Too Close
by C-Rokkk
Summary: Sequel to Hurt. Tony has left, and now Ziva is gone too.
1. Missing

**Hi everyone! This is a sequel to "Hurt", so you'll probably be a little lost if you haven't read that one first. So go read it, then come back to this one! :)  
Like I've said before, I hate writing cases, so pay no attention to the crap lack of details below, and I hope you all can make sense of my craziness. When you read this, please understand that I know Ziva has been put through hell by the writers, so I don't intend to beat her or anything else of that nature. She'll be okay.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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As tired as he was, Tony's heart sank and he quickly stood from the couch walking around it and to his bedroom. Reaching up in his closet, he pulled down a bag and ripped some shirts off of the hangers, stuffing them inside. He tried to remain calm on the phone with McGee, just so he could process as much information as he could. "What do you mean she's missing?"

He could hear McGee swallow, "I mean she's not here, Tony. She won't answer her cell phone, she's not at her apartment, and she hasn't been here in three days. Her phone is off and I can't get a GPS signal."

Tony took a deep breath to try and calm down, "What does Gibbs think?"

McGee sighed into the phone, "We're worried that her missing is tied into the case we were working on last week. Our suspect is Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah.

"Yeah I've heard about him."

McGee swallowed, his nervousness obvious in his shaking voice, "He is wanted by the FBI for basically everything."

Tony stopped stuffing clothes into his bag, "Why was he a suspect in this case?"

"The FBI tells us that he's been capturing and trying to extract information from FBI agents. It doesn't make any sense for him to capture Ziva, because she's not FBI. What does make sense, though, is that she's…"

Again, Tony stopped, "She's what McGee?"

McGee pressed his lips together and shut his eyes, "Been seeing someone from the FBI."

Tony cringed and pulled the phone away from his ear for a second. He knew she would move on eventually, but somewhere deep down inside of him he hoped she wouldn't. He put the phone back to his ear, "Has he been seen around DC?"

"Yeah. Last sighting was in Alexandria."

Tony zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder, rushing over to his dresser to add his weapon to his side. "Find him, McGee."

"We're trying Tony. But we're running into dead ends. We need your help."

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

McGee sighed again, "Gibbs didn't want us to, but I know that you can help."

Tony felt a pang in his already hurting heart that Gibbs didn't want his help. That was the same thing as saying Gibbs didn't trust him anymore, and he hated it. "Yeah McGee. I'm on the way."

"Thanks Tony."

Tony hung up the phone and headed out the door towards his car. Flipping open his phone, he called his senior field agent, or at least that's what the director called him, but Tony had another name for him.

After telling Mark that he wouldn't be in for at least three or four days, he hung up the phone, having no trust in him while he was going to be gone. His gut clenched again, he wondered if Gibbs used to think about him like that.

He shook his head as he sped off towards the airport. He needed to stop caring, if he could, about what Gibbs did or didn't think about him. It was a 39-mile drive from Kings Bay to Jacksonville' s airport. He used this time to call McGee back and get a head start on the case.

The hour and half flight to Dulles was too long for Tony. He quickly got off of the plane and walked with an extra pep in his step towards the doors. He got into the car that was in the preplanned spot.

Tim smiled at Tony as he closed the door, "Hey Tony."

Tony gave him a slight smile and nod, "Hey McGee. Has anything changed?" He shook his head firmly and Tony nodded once, "Okay. Go to her apartment."

"We've checked that already. She's not there."

"I understand that McGee, but maybe you missed something."

Tim gave him another slight nod and changed the Charger's blinker from a left to a right out of the airport. He sighed, "I know it's not under the best circumstances, Tony, but it's good to see you."

Tony agreed, "Yeah, yeah. It's good to see you too, McGee. I've missed the team."

"I'm sorry to call you, but I knew that you could help. Gibbs won't listen to reason, you know how he is when one of us is MIA or in any kind of trouble."

"Tim you can call me anytime. I may not be a part of your team anymore, but I feel like I'm still a distant cousin of the family."

McGee nodded at him, "I think you're more than that, Tony. Your spot still hasn't been filled."

Tony tore his stare off of the road and looked at the side of McGee's head. "What?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "He hasn't filled your spot. Vance is annoying the crap out of him and he has a stack of files on his desk but he hasn't touched them."

Tony sighed and turned his attention back to the dark road ahead.

Ziva opened her eyes and looked around, the space dark around her. Quickly standing and reaching for her gun that wasn't there, she moved around the room, trying to make her eyes adjust. The lights suddenly turned on and she learned that she was in a bedroom. It was actually nice, with a big bed in the middle of the room with decorations and pictures hanging on the wall. She backed away from the man that was walking towards her.

"Hello." He said, his Arabic accent very thick.

"Where am I?" Ziva said. She was looking around the room, her heart thumping in her ears with nervousness.

"You are at my house, my dear." He walked over and sat down on the bed, so she moved further away from him. "Are you hungry?"

"What do you want with me?" She said firmly.

He slowly shook his head, "There is no need to be scared, miss David."

"Where is my gun?"

He chuckled, "It is in a safe place. Please calm down, I will not hurt you."

"What do you want from me?"

He smiled, and Ziva felt goose bumps form all over her body and made her hair stand on end. "Information."

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**Like I said, Ziva WILL BE OKAY, so please don't let the end of this influence you not to read further chapters. Review? :)**


	2. Benjamin Danes

Tony pulled out his key that Ziva gave him ages ago and slowly pushed open her door. It made the creepy noise like you hear in scary movies and Tony felt his hair stand up on his arms. "Ziva?" He called softly.

From behind him, McGee stretched his neck out to see inside the apartment, and everything looked normal, just as it had when they searched it two days ago. The agents slowly walked in and began looking around. Tony kept furrowing his brows, something in his gut churning He wasn't sure why, but Tony felt the need to draw his gun.

Tim saw him and pulled his own gun out of its holster. He moved closer to Tony and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Tony only continued to move slowly through the familiar apartment, stepping carefully and quietly. McGee wasn't sure what was happening with his former teammate, but he kept his gun drawn, finger on the trigger and pointed down. Tony finally finished searching the living, dining, kitchen and half bath before heading down the short hallway to Ziva's room, McGee still in tow.

He was just about to ask Tony why he was doing this again, but he heard something that Tony must've heard in the first place. Tony opened the door to Ziva's bedroom wider and both men aimed their guns at the man standing at her closet, his back to them as he rummaged through Ziva's things.

Tony had the urge to shoot the man but held back, using his words instead, "NCIS. Stop what you're doing and put your hands up!" The tall man jumped slightly and stopped, doing as Tony told him. "Take three steps backwards and do not move an inch."

Tony could've swore he heard that man chuckle and he felt the urge to pull the trigger again but stopped when the stranger spoke, "I'm an FBI agent." He told them.

"Yeah, and I'm fucking Marry Poppins. Don't move." Tony said sternly.

"If you let me get my badge…."

"I said don't move!"

It was time for McGee to speak, "Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head, interlocking your fingers." The man chuckled again and Tony had enough. He looked at McGee and McGee nodded; understanding to keep his gun drawn while Tony handcuffed him. He did just that, and when Tony turned him around to face McGee he slowly put his gun down.

"Uh, Tony?" McGee said slowly.

"Yeah McGee?" Tony said, keeping his hand wrapped around the chain links on the cuffs.

McGee took the time to put his gun back his holster, "He is a FBI agent." He deadpanned, rolling his eyes a little.

Tony walked around to the front of him and eyed the man carefully, "Where's your badge?"

The man seemed be amused to no end, and Tony's temper was just about to boil over, "In my jacket. Front left pocket." He said.

McGee was already moving around him to let him free of his new bracelets as Tony pulled the black wallet out of the pocket and opened it. "Benjamin Danes. Never heard of him."

Ben smirked again, "I've heard of you. "DiNozzo, right?" He held out his hand and waited for Tony to shake it. Tony looked down at his hand and up at McGee, who rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah." Tony finally said, and put his hand in his, shaking it slowly. Why are you in this apartment?"

McGee cleared his throat, "Tony, this is…"

"This is my girlfriend's apartment." Ben interrupted.

Great. Tony already didn't like this bastard, but now he _really_ didn't like this bastard. He finally put his gun away so he wouldn't actually shoot him and took a step back, "Okay, so, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for anything that would aid me in finding Ziva."

"When did you see her last?" McGee asked.

"Monday, after you guys solved that case." Ben replied. He crossed his arms and continued. "I dropped her off here after our date.

Tony's words spilled out of his mouth before he even thought about it, "You didn't spend the night?"

Ben looked over at him and laughed again, "No. It was a school night."

"I don't see anything funny about this." Tony said, his teeth together as he spoke.

"It's funny that you two came in here and thought I was robbing the place, and it's funny that you're interrogating me as we stand here." Ben replied, and then looked down at the floor, "But I agree, nothing is funny about Ziva missing."

"Especially because it's probably your fault." Tony stated. Immediately Ben lost his smile and narrowed his eyes at Tony.

"What in the hell do you mean by that?" Ben snapped, and Tony was about to unleash, but the McWiseone cut in.

"Okay, okay. Tony…" McGee warned. "Look, it's nobody's fault but this bastard that's hiding her. Lets focus on finding her."

Tony turned around and walked out of Ziva's room, calling back to McGee, "There's nothing here. Let's go."

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"Ziva my dear, I have made delicious potato soup. Please have some, I know you are hungry."

"I want to go home." Ziva said harshly. Her gut churned as she watched him place the tray of food on the table close to the bed she was standing next to.

"I know you do, and you will, soon." He replied. Ziva gave the room another glance just to make sure she didn't miss an escape opportunity. But the windows were bolted shut and had bars behind them. She briefly wondered if this was what prison was like.

"Who are you?" Ziva asked.

He smiled; his thin lips pressed together, "I think you know that by now, dear. My name is next to my picture on your friend's the FBI's most wanted wall. It is a rather distasteful picture." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I will not tell you anything." Ziva spat, "So you might as well kill me now."

He laughed, "Yes you will, Ziva. And I have already told you that I will not harm you." He reminded her.

"I am not telling you anything." She said again, and snapped her head towards the door when another male voice was heard.

"Yes you will." He said and she felt her mouth open when she saw him.

She moved away from both of them until her back hit a wall. He moved further into the room and pointed to the bowl of soup that sat on the table, "Are you going to eat this?"

Abdullah shook his head, "I cannot get her to eat. You may have it. And I must say, it is delicious."

He looked over at Ziva and smiled, "You really should eat something." He said and picked up the bowl, "But potato soup is my favorite." He took a couple of bites and then sat down on the bed, "So, you claim you're not going to say anything, huh?" Ziva only eyed him. God, she wished she had her gun, or even a knife, paperclip, anything with a point. "But you will, not to worry. You see, with your help, I'm about to make a lot of money. So you will talk." He took a few more bites and was smiling up at her. He put the bowl of soup down again and walked over to her and she tried to move away from him again, but he backed her into the corner with her arms. "You were not this nervous around me before."

Ziva swallowed and cut her eyes up at him and he slowly took his hand and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, but she moved her head away quickly, "Do not touch me." She said harshly.

He chuckled and moved head closer to her ear, whispering into it, "Just tell me what I need to know, and I will let you go free.

"You bastard." Ziva said and tried to move again, but with his grip on her arms and position against the wall, she couldn't move much.

He stared into her brown eyes and laughed, "That's not nice, Ziva." After several minutes of weird silence, he finally let her go and moved back to his bowl of soup. "She will talk soon, Trip."

The other man in the room laughed out loud, "I laugh every time you call me that, Benjamin."

Ben laughed and looked over his shoulder at Ziva, "It makes sense right? Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, the three A's? Triple? Trip?"

Ziva wasn't laughing; in fact, she was doing just the opposite. She stood against the wall and honestly wanted to shoot herself, her mind running in constant cycle: How could she do this again? She was trying to put herself back out there and take her mind off of her former partner, but again, it backfired.

Again, she was in trouble.

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**Review? :)**


	3. Memories

**Hello wonderful people. Sorry for the delay, I had this chapter ready about two days ago but I had an internet + fanfiction=craycray moment and it would not post for anything. Then with the combination of work, school, and work softball team I kind of...forgot that it didn't post. :/ Sorry about that. But here it is! Review when you get to the end? :)**

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It was almost 1 AM, and Tony waited for McGee to unlock his apartment door. When he finally got it open, Tony walked in and looked around, "So why did you get a new apartment again?"

McGee sighed, "Because my sister stays a lot and I wanted her to have her own bedroom." He said plainly.

"It's nice." Tony replied, looking around.

McGee walked in front of him to the empty bedroom with Tony following him and turned on the light, "Yeah, I like it. I get to spend more time with Sarah when she's in town."

"And ex-coworkers?" Tony asked.

McGee only stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded awkwardly, "Well, uh, do you want to get some sleep, I know you're probably exhausted."

Tony shook his head and threw his bag of clothes on the bed, " I'm too worked up to sleep," he said honestly. "I will stay up and get stared on information from this Abdullah guy."

McGee chuckled, "You're going to get information?"

"Well…yeah McGee. I'm going to investigate."

"I know, but _you're_ going to get information from the _computer_?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "I can figure it out."

McGee shook his head, "No, no. I'll help you. I don't want to wake up in the morning and find my computer as a big puff of smoke." Tony gave him a sarcastic laugh and nodded his head.

The two agents went back out to McGee's living room and to his computer. Tony grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to his, watching as his fingers go to work on the keyboard. Tony went into a trance as McGee worked on trying to find out where his last call was.

_It was two weeks after the wonderful baseball game that started this whole thing and Tony sat at his computer and smiled over at his partner across the bullpen. She was gorgeous today, a yellow top that showed off her perfect olive skin. She finally looked up at him and smiled, placing her pen over her lips. _

_He turned to his computer and started up an instant message conversation._

DiNozzo, A: You look amazing over there. :)  
David, Z: Not so bad yourself.  
DiNozzo, A: Do you have plans this weekend?  
David, Z: Not yet. What do you have in mind?

_Sending the quickest glance to Gibbs' desk to make sure he was oblivious, she looked across to Tony again and licked her lips. She made sure it was slow enough so that Tony would feel it all the way down his body. _

_Tony had to resist the sudden urge to walk over there and use that desk to have his way with every inch of her, but he focused his attention back to the instant message conversation. _

DiNozzo, A: Yes, that. Plenty of that. Promise you'll do that again over the weekend? But there is something else…  
David, Z: I make no promises, but I can promise you that you will enjoy what I have in mind.  
DiNozzo, A: You have to stop. I might walk over there in a second and I won't care who sees.  
David, Z: That would be an interesting show for Gibbs and McGee.  
DiNozzo, A: So, back to the weekend please?  
David, Z: That is the title of a movie, yes?  
DiNozzo, A: No, you're probably thinking about Back to the Future. Classic.  
David, Z: Yes, I have seen that one. It was good.  
DiNozzo, A: Anyway, my friend Simon who I've known forever is having this big party on Saturday. He wants me to come, and I want you to come with me.  
David, Z: No, do not be silly. I was not invited and I do not wish to show up unannounced. You should go and have a good time, but when you get finished, come and see me, that is, if you are not too tired. ;)  
DiNozzo, A: I told you to stop. He said for me to bring you. Please come. Then after, I'll put my lips on that beautiful skin of yours.

_Ziva took a second to look up at him only to find him staring straight back at her, that look that drove her crazy most of the time plastered on his face. _

David, Z: What time should I be ready?  
DiNozzo, A: It starts at six, so I'll pick you up around 6:30.  
David, Z: Sounds good.  
DiNozzo, A: Prepare to spend the night, but no clothes are necessary. ;)  
David, Z: I do not know Simon well enough to spend the night with no clothes.

_Tony made the mistake of laughing out loud and Gibbs looked up at him, narrowing his eyes. "Is something about that case file funny, DiNozzo?" _

_Tony shook his head, "No boss. Just thinking of a joke I heard yesterday." _

"_Get to work." He barked. _

_Three days passed and it was finally the weekend. Even though the MCRT was on call for the weekend, they were pretty sure they wouldn't get paged because they hadn't had a case in a week, and sitting at the office all day was about to drive each of them mad. Tony arrived at Ziva's apartment about 10 minutes earlier than planned. He played with his hair for a second and then knocked on the door. Ziva opened it quickly, smiling up at him as she put in her earrings, "Come in, I am almost ready." Tony grabbed her hand as she tried to move back to her bedroom and smiled down at her as she crashed into his body, "What are you doing?" _

_Without saying a word, he leaned down and pressed a hot kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the kiss quickly went from a PG one to a PG-13 one. Ziva moaned into the kiss and Tony's hands moved down to her waist, pushing her into the wall behind her. Chill bumps covered her skin and she couldn't decide if it was because she was currently kissing and touching him like this again or if it was because of the cool wall touching the skin on her open back blouse. She stopped thinking when his hands grabbed her ass and squeezed it, making her moan again. It was pretty much the best sound Tony could ever remember hearing. She wrapped one leg around the back of his and continued to move her hips in a circular motion. Her hands were playing in his hair, making sure his lips didn't leave hers anytime soon. _

_He finally pulled away from her, but didn't move his hands, and she didn't move her leg. After a few seconds of heavy breathing and silence, she finally spoke, "I should go finish getting ready for the party." _

_Tony leaned his forehead on hers, "Yeah. You should." Another second and he dove into another kiss, lifting her higher on the wall, making her wrap both legs around his waist. The kiss broke again and she sighed, smiling at him. He pressed a kiss to her neck mumbling into it, "How badly do you want to go to this party?" _

"_Not that badly." She said honestly, moving her head over to give him plenty of room to do whatever he pleased to her neck. _

_He laughed into her mouth and Ziva found the action explosively hot, "Good answer." He breathed and picked her up, his lips never leaving her skin for a second. _

_Two hours and four amazing sessions later, Tony landed on the cushioned bed with a thump, a thin layer of sweat covering his body. He leaned over to kiss her again but his cell phone beeped to let him know he had a text message. He kissed her quickly and leaned over the bed to retrieve his long lost jeans, pulling the cell phone out of it's holster on his belt. He returned to his horizontal position on the bed and Ziva got on her knees, placing kisses all over his neck and shoulder as he read the text message: 'Where the hell are you dude? Thought you were coming?'_

_Ziva chuckled after he read it aloud, "Sorry for making you miss the party." She placed another kiss on the sensitive spot she knew drove him crazy._

_He was typing a reply to Simon: 'sorry man. think i caught a touch of the flu from work.' "You didn't make me miss anything." He said and turned his head to kiss her, "And when I get through with this text message, we're going to have round five, that is, if you're up for it." He grinned at her and turned back to his phone and continued typing, 'i'll call you later this week for a makeup basketball game.' _

_Ziva dragged her nails through his hair and gently bit his earlobe, "Oh, we are just getting started." She quickly moved off of the bed, "Come join me in the shower when you finish talking with your man friend." _

_Tony felt all of his blood run south again and jumped up to follow her when his phone beeped, 'oh, you so owe me a game. and i even brought a girl for you to meet. so fuckin' hot, man. you snooze you loose, suka.'_

_He heard the shower turn on and he hurriedly typed on his phone again, 'i'm seeing someone. i don't need your fake blonde. catcha later.' _

"Tony! Are you listening to me?" McGee asked, snapping his fingers in front of Tony's face. He finally sat up straight and leaned towards the screen.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. Drifted off for a second."

"Welcome back to the land of the living." He pressed several keys on his keyboard and pointed to the screen, "I think I found her."

"Ziva, dear." Abdullah said, walking into the room. Ziva sat on the floor and watched him as he walked in front of her, placing pictures on the opposite wall. Her heart sped up when she saw pictures of Abby, McGee, Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer on the wall. "Do you know these people?" Ziva only looked into his eyes, gritting her teeth together. "Yes, well. It appears you do. Benjamin mentioned them and said that you are very close with them."

"Do not touch them." She said sharply.

"No problem." Ben said, walking into the room and crossing his arms, "If you talk, we won't lay a finger on them." Ziva only pressed her lips together and turned her head.

Ben sighed, "Okay, fine. Be stubborn. Hell, that's one of the reasons I liked you so much in the first place." He walked back into the other room and grabbed another picture, speaking louder so that she could hear him as he walked into the other room, "You have 24 hours, Ziva." He entered the room again and moved back over to the wall where Abdullah was standing, "You forgot this one, Trip."

Ziva was sure she was having a heart attack. There, in front of the line with all the others, was Anthony DiNozzo's picture. Ziva knew right away that it was the one that was also on his badge. She was exhausted, dirty, hungry and thirsty so she knew she was in no shape to fight the two men. But god, she wanted to.

Ben finished pinning it to the wall. He pointed at Tony's picture and squinted his eyes, "He's first."


	4. Idiot

**Okay, okay. I know. The stuff below makes *my* head spin too and I'm the one who wrote it. So sorry, I hate this kind of stuff. I'm hoping you can figure it out, but if not let me know and I'll try to explain it better. So glad this part is done, so that I don't have to think about it anymore and can get to the actual Tiva-goodness. I'll try to update ASAP because I'm excited about the rest of this ****story. That's probably why I rushed the heck out of this chapter, but for good reason. **

**Please leave me a review, even if it's bad. I can take it. **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, still not mine.**

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McGee walked into the squad room in front of Tony and rounded the corner to the squad room and ran into Gibbs. The two men made a surprised grunt and Gibbs closed his cell phone. He looked over Tim's shoulder and to Tony, narrowing his eyes and pointing a finger, "What in the hell is he doing here?"

"Boss…" McGee started.

Tony narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, staring right back at Gibbs and not budging from his spot. "Go home, DiNozzo. I'm sure you have your own cases to worry about."

"You know I can't do that." Tony said quietly. He was tired, his love was missing, and he didn't feel like going into this boxing match with his former el jefe.

"You're not needed here, go home."

"Ziva's missing, Gibbs. I'm not going anywhere until she's safe again and you know that."

"Okay, boss, if you could come…" McGee moved from between the two men and to his computer, trying to get enough of Gibbs attention so that he would follow him to the machine and learn this new stuff about the case.

But, again, McGee was ignored and Gibbs didn't move to allow Tony all the way into the squad room. "I know that you're not apart of this team anymore. She's not your partner, she's not your wife, she's not in your life anymore. I did not call you to come and help with this case, so that means…"

"Boss, please shut up for a second?!" McGee blurted, but immediately regret it. Gibbs took his stare off of his former senior field agent and turned to plaster the stare on McGee. He swallowed nervously and had to catch his breath.

Tony made himself a mental note to thank McGee later. He knew that Gibbs would be at work, especially since one of his own was missing. He also knew that Abby was down in the lab. Gibbs walked over to McGee's desk and leaned down, using the back of his chair with one hand and his desk with the other. "What?" He said sternly. Tony moved across the bullpen and stood on the other side of McGee.

"Tony and I did some research and this is where Abdullah was last on his phone before he disconnected it." McGee pointed on the map.

Gibbs turned to stare at him, "That doesn't help McGee. He disconnected 7 days ago."

"Yeah boss, but using that as a starting point, I found out from his phone's GPS, even though it's been disabled, that he went here, through here, and all the way down here. There is a small house on this side of the cliff."

"Then how in the hell did he get there, McGee? On foot? All that is woods."

"Yeah, he had too. There's not even a path to get a car back there."

"McGee that's miles and miles away. He wouldn't walk that far."

"He would to get away Gibbs." Tony butted in.

"You're not on this case." Gibbs said harshly. And then stood to his full form and whacked McGee on the back of the head. "I know where she is, McGee. I was about to call you, we're going to go get her. Get your crap and get an earwig set ready for us. BPV's, the works. We're not taking any chances on this one."

"Where is she boss?"

"Pull it up." Gibbs commanded, and McGee pressed a few keys on his keyboard to bring up Gibbs' saved information. "She's here."

"In the middle of a busy neighborhood?" Tony asked.

"Get the hell out of here DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled. Tony only continued to stare.

"Boss…" McGee started, but Gibbs had already walked away and headed up the stairs.

"Be ready in five minutes McGee." He barked. He disappeared behind a door. McGee stood and started to collect his things.

"I'm going to get her." Tony said quietly. "From the shack."

"Tony, no. Not alone. It's too dangerous. McGee said quickly. "Wait until I get back with Gibbs so I can give you back up. We'll even call Balboa."

"I'm not waiting, McGee." He said.

"No!"

"Tim I know where she is. And I know something's not right with that Ben guy she's been seeing."

"He's an FBI agent, Tony." McGee said, suddenly confused. He wasn't sure what made Tony get the light bulb that spelled 'Ben'.

"I don't trust him." Tony added. McGee turned his head.

"You don't trust him because he's dating Ziva and you still love her."

"I bet if you call him right now, his phone will be off."

McGee sighed and shook his head, "It's 2 in the morning, Tony."

"Call him."

McGee glanced up at the stairs to make sure Gibbs hadn't reappeared and sat back down at his computer, typing a few seconds to pull up the agent's information. He picked up his phone and quickly dialed the seven numbers.

McGee sighed, "It's two AM, Tony." He said again, hanging up the phone from Ben's voicemail.

"If he liked Ziva even a little, he'd be out looking for her. He' s playing her, or helping this bastard hold her hostage. I'm not gonna stand for it." McGee started typing some more stuff on his computer. He felt his mouth fall open when he saw what was on the screen.

"Tony…look." He said calmly. Tony squat down and looked up at the screen. "You're right. His cell phone has been to this road everyday. I lose the signal when he turns it off and I can't follow after since it's a government phone."

"That bastard's got her." Tony shivered at the same words Gibbs said when Ari Haswari had Kate. "I'm going."

"Well he lives in Alexandria." McGee typed some more on the computer, pulling up everything he could, "And that road is a back road so people don't have to take the highway."

Tony rolled his eyes and opened McGee's desk, collecting some of McGee's clips for his own gun. "I need a few of these."

Tim nodded, but continued, "Tony, I don't think it's him. While I agree with you about where she's being held, he seems like he's really crazy about her. It just doesn't seem right with him being involved."

Tony hit McGee's back and grabbed some keys for a sedan, "I'll see you later. I'll probably come back to your house after she's safe."

"No, you need to wait for backup."

McGee stood from his desk. "DiNozzo!" He yelled, running to catch up with him. He grabbed onto Tony's shoulder and pulled backwards, "You're not going by yourself. Let me do this mission with Gibbs, the house will be cleared and then we all three will go to the shack."

Tony shook his head, "No, Tim. You go with Gibbs. I'll be fine. And Gibbs thinks he's right and you're not gonna convince her

"No!" Tim yelled. Tony was surprised by the tone of McGee's voice, "I'm already down one of my team, one is missing and damn it, I'm not gonna have you gone too. Stay here until I get back."

Tony had to resist rolling his eyes, "Fine McGee."

"You won't go until I get back? Promise?"

"Yeah."

"Lay down while I'm gone." McGee commanded and then took off to gather supplies. Tony waited until he was out of McGee's eyesight and headed for the elevator.

Nobody laid a hand on Ziva and got away with it.

Tony took one of the sedans and drove the 56 miles to the location. He zipped up his hoodie, the morning hours were chilly and the sound of crickets and frogs filled his ears. He clicked on his phone screen and pressed his handy-dandy compass app. Tony mentally thanked every person that had a hand in creating smart phones. Setting it on the trunk, he pulled his gun out of it's holster and made sure he had bullets read to go, and then felt around his belt to the three extra clips back there. Nodding to himself, he clicked on the flashlight and stuck the car keys in his pocket. He held his compass in his left hand and the flashlight in the right. He started the long walk, heading west towards the shack/cabin/house…whatever it was.

It was four hours later and he had finally made it to the structure. His cell phone was now completely dead, and Tony was impressed with himself that he probably walked the last 7 miles or so without using his phone. He turned off his flashlight and replaced it with his loaded gun. He let out a nervous sigh and checked the perimeter before making it around to the front porch stairs again. He didn't make a sound as he lined himself up with one of the windows next to the door and looked inside.

He was rightfully nervous and jumpy, and he knew he would probably regret it for not waiting on backup. He would shoot Ziva or McGee if they had pulled this kind of crap, but damn it, the woman he loved was in there. The sunlight was now peering over the horizon, so it helped him see without his flashlight.

The room directly behind the door seemed empty. He swallowed the lump in his throat and carefully tried the knob on the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked and _waiting_ for him to open the door all the way.

Slowly, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. The first room was the living room, with a small TV and a couch. He checked every corner in the room and found it clear before moving into the kitchen. A soft snore was heard from the room next to the kitchen and Tony moved into that one. The man on the bed was Abdullah, and Tony held his finger on the trigger. He knew a shot would wake anyone else that was in the house, so he stepped back into the kitchen and moved down the short hallway.

He decided that he should get Ziva out of there before killing the bastards. The next room was the bathroom, so he cleared that and kept moving down the hall. The room to his left was another bedroom, but it was empty.

He finally made it into the hall and slowly opened the last bedroom door, seeing the man he knew was involved the whole time on the bed sound asleep, a loud snore was heard throughout the room.

Tony moved around the bed, not making a sound. His heart sped up to a million miles per hour when he spotted her. She lay on the floor, her left arm under her head, her feet together and her whole body pressed against the wall. Her eyes were closed and Tony quickly squat down and took a silent, deep breath when he saw that she was breathing in a normal rhythm.

He took a second to study her body, and while she was filthy and pale, he saw no visible marks on her. Ben moved on the bed and it reminded him that he needed to get her the hell out of there and then deal with the two bastards inside. He put his hand on her arm and she woke suddenly, her eyes wide.

She sat up and stared at him, unsure if this was a dream or reality. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded. He mouthed 'can you walk' to her and she nodded again. He pulled a knife from his back pocket and handed her the gun.

She was so weak from hunger that the gun felt incredibly heavy in her hand, but she held a tight grip on it as Tony helped her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist and the pair walked quietly through the house and out the door successfully.

They kept moving until they were plenty far enough from the house, and Tony let her sit down on the ground. They both breathed as they were out of breath with relief.

He took the time to brush her hair back from her face, "Are you okay?" He finally asked her.

She looked up at him and only nodded. She didn't even know if she could talk to him.

He came after her…again.

He had saved her…again.

Tony nodded back to her and took a deep breath. "Okay. Stay here, all right? He cupped her face and kissed her forehead, "I'm gonna go kill those guys."

Ziva watched him as he entered the house where she was kept captive and then heard one gunshot. She held her breath and several minuets later, she heard some fighting and then another gunshot and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

She was so weak, so exhausted and so out of it that she couldn't even stand to run in there and see if it was Tony that had gotten shot.

A few tears streamed down her face and she let all of them loose when she saw Tony walk out of the house and back towards her.

He sat down next to her, out of breath and dropped the gun on the pine straw they sat on. "Ziva." He breathed and grabbed her, squeezing her body tight.

The sounds outside were now birds chirping as the sunlight became brighter. They held each other; he was counting on her just as much as she was counting on him for support.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked her.

Ziva didn't let go of him, "No." She said simply.

"Hey," He started and made himself pull away so that he could look at her, "If they touched you, I need to know so we can get you checked out."

Ziva shook her head and more tears poured out of her eyes, "They did not hurt me. They just wanted information."

Tony nodded and cupped her face, wiping her tears with his thumbs, "God Ziva, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Ziva finally looked away, "I should not have trusted him." She said softly.

"No, no. Don't blame yourself." He pulled her face so that her eyes were on his again. "Come on. We've gotta get you out of here, and I've got to call Gibbs and McGee."

"You don't have to." Gibbs said as the men approached them. Tony sighed and dropped his gun again when he realized who had walked up to them.

"Ziva!" McGee said as he helped her stand up. He gave a hug and then Gibbs cupped her face just as Tony did, pulling her into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Gibbs asked honestly.

Ziva nodded slowly, "I am fine."

"You're not hurt?" He asked. Ziva shook her head.

Tony motioned with his head, "Call Fornell, Gibbs. Two dead guys in there. One is his agent and one is his terrorist."

Gibbs took his look away from Ziva and stared at Tony, "You killed an FBI agent?"

"He was holding Ziva hostage, so hell yeah, I shot that son of a bitch. He's dead."

"How do you know he wasn't there to rescue her, DiNozzo?"

"Because he wanted information from me, Gibbs." Ziva butted in. That was the loudest she had spoken in several days and it hurt her throat. "He was using me."

Gibbs stared at her again and nodded slowly, "Ok Ziver. Let's go home."

McGee wrapped one of Ziva's arms over his shoulder and Tony took the other, and it felt oddly familiar, just like four years ago at Saleem's camp.

Ziva closed her eyes at the horrible memory and shook her head. Gibbs walked in front of them through the dense woods. There was silence between them for probably a mile or two until McGee looked at Tony across Ziva's body.

"Ziva, I'm glad your okay. Very, very glad. But please excuse me when I say this. Tony, you're a fucking idiot!" The words coming out of McGee's mouth even made Gibbs turn back and look at them, "I told you to wait."

"I wasn't going to sit around and wait for you to search the wrong house." Tony said harshly. I had to come find her."

"Why the hell didn't you call Balboa or Rivers or any of the other fucking agents in the whole damn place who could've been backup?!"

"I only had one thing on my mind, McGee. Nothing else mattered."

"Yeah well, count your lucky cards, again, DiNozzo. Your down to five lives now because you're an idiot."

"I know." He admitted.

Ziva looked up at Tony. He was concentrating on dodging branches and trees. His tired face showed one emotion she knew was on hers as well: relief.

She didn't understand when she learned that McGee and Gibbs were not with him; she assumed they were checking the rest of the house or something. While she was grateful to him again, she scolded him in her brain and agreed with McGee.

What an idiot.


	5. Thank You

Tony finally, finally_, finally_ walked into McGee's apartment. It was now almost 1400, and he hadn't had a shower, sleep, or anything to eat in over 24 hours. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to decide what he was going to do first.

He leaned down and sniffed his own body, nodding to himself that a shower should probably be on the top of his list.

McGee was still at the office, so he had the place to himself. He slugged over to the shower, stripped his clothes and began to wash the stench of the horrible day from his body. After taking a 30-minute shower, he dressed and headed to the fridge, his stomach reminding him that it needed attention.

A ham sandwich, sour cream and onion Pringles and a bottle of water made the growling stop, so he checked that task off of his mental list and headed to McGee's spare bedroom. He had just lay down and closed his eyes when there was a knock on the probie's door.

Tony thought for a while if he wanted to emerge from the bed to see who it was, but the person knocked again, this time it was harder on the wood. He let out a groan and stood again, walking slowly to the door and opening it.

He didn't say a word and neither did she as she walked into the apartment, looking around to admire McGee's new apartment. She mentally scolded herself that she hadn't seen it, even though he got it at least two months ago. She watched Tony as he walked around her and to the couch, sitting down on it.

She looked down at him and he finally broke the silence, "Have you eaten?"

She nodded slowly, "Yes. Gibbs and the Director made sure I ate before I left the office."

Tony nodded, "Okay. And you've showered, I see."

Again, she nodded, "Yes."

"Well you said that you were exhausted, which I completely understand. I know you need some sleep and that your apartment is closer to NCIS than McGee's…" He said softly, careful to not raise his voice at her. "So what are you doing here?"

She swallowed, unsure of what to say. She walked around him and sat on the other end of McGee's couch, her hands clutched together and her knees tightly together. He was right, she was exhausted, and it was extremely hard for her to pass her apartment, her bed, and her home.

But she needed to see him. After some arm twisting (literally) McGee told her that Tony wasn't leaving right away and that he was rooming with him. She looked over at him again and tried to study his face.

He looked tired, and she knew he was. McGee and Abby informed her that he didn't stop for two days looking for, and his expressions and actions showed it.

"I know you are tired too." She finally said, still not looking at him.

Tony chuckled, "Yeah. But I just need a day of sleep and I'll be good as new. I'll head back down tomorrow. I think Gibbs and Vance are pretty much done with me…in more ways than one. McGee's peeved too, and he told Abby, but hey, I had to do what I had to do."

Ziva agreed with all four people he just listed. What he did was stupid. You never, ever, ever, ever go on a mission like he did without backup.

He did, and she was sitting there with him, again, and everyone she knew was okay. She shook the mental image that appeared of that bastard pointing at Tony's picture and saying that he was first.

He broke the awkwardness again, and she realized that he seemed nervous just as she did. "Well, you're welcome to go in there and sleep on his guest bed if you don't want to be alone. I'll take the couch."

She shook her head, "That is not why I came here." He lookd at her again, waiting on her to continue. She finally looked into his green eyes and moved closer to him, pressing her lips against his.

The kiss was soft, simple and quick. She let go of Tony's face and he let a small smile creep up on his lips, "That's why you came?"

She nodded just slightly and spoke softly, "Thank you, Tony. Again."

He lost his smile and looked at the floor and shrugged a shoulder as if it was obvious. "I'll do anything for you, Ziva."

She looked at him, trying to hide the look on her face. She knew he'd do anything for her, he had told her that thousands of times before. But even know, after everything they went through? "Tony…I do not know how you feel about me anymore, but…"

"How I feel about you?" He said, interrupting her. He stood and began pacing behind the couch. She turned and watched him carefully. "I feel like I've made my place in this world. I love what I do for a living, I try to do what's right, and I pay my taxes."

"Tony…" She tried again.

"You have moved on, and I understand, but I haven't. I went on one date in the last six months and all I did was talk about you. I dropped her off and gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her that I was sorry for wasting her time. "God, I'm tired." He said, rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb. "I left. I moved away." He sat on the edge of the couch and stared out of the window. "There's nothing that I can do without thinking of you. It shouldn't be this hard."

She walked around the couch so that she could face him again and looked into his eyes, "I did not move on. I only went on two dates with Ben."

Tony looked right into her eyes, "Did you sleep with him?"

Ziva stared right back at him, "Tony, that is…"

"Did you sleep with him, Ziva?"

She crossed her arms and looked down at the floor, "No, I told him I wanted to take things slow when we started dating."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Ziva you can tell me the truth."

"I did not sleep with him, Tony. " She said. He was still staring at her with the green eyes that screamed at her that he didn't believe her. She sighed, "We went on a date and he was dropping me off at my apartment. We kissed, and he took off my shirt…"

Tony held up a hand, "Okay, I don't want to hear this."

"…I took off his, but Gibbs called and told me that we had a dead body. So I dressed and went to the scene. We did not sleep together."

Tony nodded at her and stood to walk away from her. "I need to say something." Ziva turned around and sat on the edge of the couch, just as he was earlier. "I can't keep coming here and looking at you. I was a little mad at you for not returning my emails or text messages, and it was killing me that I hadn't heard your voice in 6 months. But now that I'm here, looking at you and talking to you, I realize that it's a good thing." He was now leaning against the living room wall, his legs and arms crossed as he spoke to her, "I miss it here. I miss Abby, I miss the head slaps, I miss Ducky's stories, I miss Palmer saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Hell, I even miss McGee." Unfolding his arms, he ran a hand through his hair, "If you call me and need me, you know I'll come. You know I will."

She nodded and looked up at him again, waiting on him to continue. Her mouth was dry and she was thirsty again, so she quickly walked over to McGee's fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, returning to the living room and handing one to him before getting in her original spot.

He took a sip before he spoke, "Before we started dating was so much easier for me. I didn't know what I had, and it was easier to be your partner and have your back." She nodded, agreeing with him. Things were easier back then, "But now, I know what I had and what I lost. I have never let anything take over my life like you did. Our time apart is like…" He struggled to find a word, "…knives being stabbed in my chest over and over again, and I can't breathe. Everything that I do reminds me of you, and I hate it. I can't turn my mind off and I don't think I've had a full eight hours sleep since I moved."

She finally opened her mouth to speak, "Tony I told you that you did not have to move. That we could still be partners and co-workers."

"But you also told me that I couldn't love you anymore." He said. She sighed deeply and looked down at the floor. "Seeing you everyday was not an option, Ziva. I'm trying so hard not to love you, and it only goes so far." She looked at him and fought the tears that had formed in her eyes. "And trying not to need you is literally tearing me apart." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I'll go back home and try again, but I know it's useless." He finally looked over at her and took three steps in that direction, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring at her, waiting on her to look up at him. When she did, he shrugged his shoulders, "Trying not to love you only makes me love you more."

The tears she was fighting finally fell down her face. He smiled and took two more steps, standing right in front of her. "Hey, what did I tell you about that?" He cupped her face, wiping her tears away as he always did.

"Tony I do not like the way things are." Her voice broke again and she had to look away from him.

"I don't either. I fucked everything up. I hate that you can't be in love with me anymore." He rubbed her face now.

She let out a long sigh, "What is going to happen?" She asked him, her voice broken as she looked up at him.

He shrugged one shoulder. "Right now? I'm going to kiss you because I don't think I can stand it anymore. Then, we're going to sleep because I'm exhausted and so are you. Tomorrow, I'll get on a plane and go back to Kings Bay." She put her arms on his waist, leaning her head up to meet his. "I know you said that it doesn't mean anything when I kiss you, but I need this or I might faint."

She shook her head, "It does mean something." She whispered softly and he leaned down and placed his lips on hers. Although the kiss was beyond perfect and exactly what he wanted, he wasn't going to deepen the kiss until she opened her mouth, begging him to. His hands left her face and wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to his own body.

They only stopped when they heard the door open. McGee stopped dead in his tracks. They looked at him, but didn't move away from each other. "Oh geez, I'm sorry."

Tony gave her a quick kiss and wiped her tears again, "No problem, McGoo. You done at the office?" He let her go and she stood up straight, pulling on her clothes.

McGee nodded, "Yeah, but I can go to Abby's and crash on her couch if you two…"

"No, no. That is not necessary Tim." Ziva said, looking at Tony again, "I was just telling Tony thank you."

McGee nodded slowly, "Okay."

Ziva smiled at McGee and walked over to him, placing a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, Tim."

He smiled back at her, "That wasn't the same thank you Tony got." All three agents chuckled and he pulled her into a hug, "We're glad you're okay, Ziva."

She nodded, "Me too. I am going home now."

"Ziva, you shouldn't drive when you're that tired." Tony butted in.

McGee nodded, "Yeah, stay here."

"I"ll take the couch, you go take McGee's spare room." Tony said quickly.

"No, that is not necessary. I am fine." She told them, but McGee closed the door behind him.

"No, stay, Ziva."

She was too exhausted to argue with them so she nodded and moved back into the room. Nothing else was said between the three when McGee led her to the spare and closed the door behind him. He went to the closet where he kept spare blankets and pulled a pillow and blanket down for Tony. "Here you go Tony."

"Thanks." He said quietly. He sat on the edge of the couch again, "McGee I know you're pissed at me, but…"

McGee shrugged one shoulder, "It's over now Tony. You're still an idiot, and if you ever do that again I will shoot you."

Tony stood up at hit him on the arm, "I'll deserve it."

"You do right now." McGee watched as he walked around the couch and lay down on it, putting his arms behind his head, "So are you coming back now?"

Tony looked up at him, "What? No."

"Well I just figured since I saw you kissing her like that…"

"We just had some things to clear up." He told him.

"So you're not back together?"

Tony shook his head, "No, McGee. We're not getting back together."

Tim crossed his arms, "That looked like a get back together kiss."

Tony sighed and closed his eyes, "It wasn't."

Tim nodded and pulled his gun off of his side, turning to walk into his bedroom. "Get some sleep DiNozzo."

"Yeah."

Tony was just about asleep again when he heard a door open. He sighed and listened for the footsteps to go into the bathroom, but they didn't; they seemed to be getting closer. He lifted his head quickly when he felt her hands on his forearms. "What are you doing?" He asked softly.

"That bed is not comfortable." Ziva said quietly. She finished climbing on top of him and rested her head on his chest, "I need to be next to someone right now." She said honestly. She wrapped her arms around his torso and let him get situated, moving around a little.

Tony swallowed and kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Okay."


	6. Poker Night

**Okay, this chapter officially killed me. I re-wrote it about 4 times (no seriously, it was that many) because I didn't have a clue how I wanted this to go. What I ended up with at the end is slightly cheesy like a cheese pizza with extra cheese, but I like it. It may seem like a story-ending chapter, but it's not. There'll be more, so fasten your seatbelts! If you like the cheese pizza or you don't, tell me when you get finished. I love opinions. :)**

* * *

Tony's cell phone began buzzing in his back left pocket to wake him from his slumber. He tightened his grip on the woman on top of him and carefully reached behind him to pull the phone out. He silenced it and wrapped his arms around her again.

He had a seven o'clock flight, and it was currently 0530 in the morning. He needed to get up and get to the airport, but he didn't want to move a muscle. The Israeli was sound asleep on his chest, one arm tucked underneath her body and the other thrown over his chest, resting on his bicep.

He lay there inhaling the delicious scent of her body wash and shampoo and listening to her breathe. He was drawing circles on her back and dragging his fingertip over her skin. God, he missed this.

He heard McGee's alarm clock go off in his room, and Tony knew the agent would be out soon to take him to the airport. Tony turned his head and said a lot of mental curse words to McGee for always being on time, and to himself for asking McGee if he would drive him.

Lifting his hands from her body, he moved them up to the top of her arms and grabbed her shoulders, running his hands all the way down her arms and intertwined their fingers.

The actions usually woke her, but he assumed that she was so exhausted that it was going to take a little more effort. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and let out a long sigh, "Ziva." He said quietly.

The only response he got was her moving a little on top of him. He smiled and dropped her hand, bringing it up to her face and brushing her hair off of it, tucking it behind her ear. He let his fingers drag softly over her perfect skin and back down to her lips. "Ziva."

She finally felt his fingers on her and turned her head towards his, but not opening her eyes, "Hm?"

He didn't want to ruin this moment because it was honestly the thing he missed the most. "Good morning." He whispered.

She yawned and he ran his hand down her arm again, intertwining his fingers with hers, "Shalom."

"How did you sleep?" He asked her.

How did she sleep? Better than she had in about six months, "Fine." She finally opened her eyes and looked at him through the darkness.

He nodded and brought the hand that wasn't occupied with hers up to run through her hair, "Yeah, me too. It's crazy how much you miss sleep when you don't get it for a day or two." She nodded into his chest and he sighed, "McGee will be out here in a second."

She subconsciously squeezed his hand at the thought of him moving from their position. Her mind was swimming and she suddenly felt dizzy. She let out a long sigh and was shocked to hear the next words that came out of her own mouth, "Stay."

It was silent for a while. He was lying there thinking if he heard her correctly. Sure, she had told him to stay, but she only did that because she was currently using him as a mattress and he rescued her merely a few hours ago. He shut his eyes and sighed, squeezing her arm tighter, "McGee will be out in a minute, Zi."

She finally took her stare off of him and nodded again into his chest, dropping his hand and bracing herself on his shoulders. She lift herself off of him and when her feet touched the floor, she moved back and watched him as he sat up and finally got to his feet. She crossed her arms and looked up at him, waiting on him to say something first.

"Come here." He said softly, and he took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her as she unfolded her arms and wrapped them around him. They held each other like that for a while until they heard McGee approach his bedroom door.

Tony let her go and walked into the spare bedroom to grab his bag. Ziva let out a sigh and picked up the blanket that Tony used and folded it, placing it and the pillow neatly on McGee's couch just as he walked out of the bedroom. "Oh, hey Ziva. Did you sleep well?"

Ziva smiled at him, "Yes, I did Tim. Thank you."

"What are you doing up so early?" McGee asked.

She looked at the spare bedroom, "Oh, Tony woke me when he came in to get his bag." She told him.

"Oh, okay." McGee walked into his kitchen and pulled down some coffee cups, "I think I have some tea up here somewhere, just got to make sure it's in date." He chuckled and Ziva walked over to the kitchen, watching McGee as he looked up onto the top shelves.

Tony came out of the bedroom and had changed into some jeans and a brown collard shirt, his gun and badge on his belt. Ziva looked at him and shook her head. "No, thank you Tim. I am going to the office to catch up with some work."

McGee stopped checking the box for an expiration date and looked over at Ziva, and then at Tony who was staring at Ziva, "Ziva, Gibbs told us to stay at home today."

Ziva pointed to McGee, "You have your gun and badge on." She deadpanned.

"I'm not going to work though, I have to clean my computer." He looked at Tony for confirmation that his lie would work, but Tony rolled his eyes.

"Tim, you are a horrible liar." She told him.

Tony nodded at Ziva, "That's true. But he's right, Ziva, you need to rest." Ziva looked over at him and he knew he wasn't going to win this argument, and neither was McGee. "I need to get to the airport."

McGee finished making coffee and poured it into a thermos, nodding to Tony. "Ziva, please don't go to work today. Gibbs will have a cow."

She rolled her eyes and started towards the door again, "Ziv, wait." Tony said, taking three steps towards her and kissed her on the cheek before pulling her into another hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

She let go of him and looked into his eyes, and without saying a word they had an entire conversation. When they tore their stares off of each other, Tony walked passed her and out into the hall. Ziva looked over at McGee and nodded to him, "I will see you at the office."

McGee groaned and took a sip of his coffee.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

It was only three days later and she let out a breath. She had a plan in her brain, and it basically consisted of tackling him against the wall and kissing him like her body wanted her to.

Something clicked inside of her when he left a few days ago. She didn't know if it was the thought of him not being there again, or if it was because she knew he'd come and find her. Even before Gibbs and McGee, he would come and find her.

Damn it, she loved him. She had always loved him. And even after trying to forget that feeling with her crazy Mossad training, she couldn't do it.

So here she stood in front of his door ready to knock and tell the man on the other side that she wanted to make it work.

She was pretty sure her heart was going to beat out of her chest and land on the concrete under her feet.

She felt the need to check for said heartbeat when it wasn't him that answered the door. Her brown eyes looked into the woman's blue ones and Ziva felt her mouth fall open.

"Who are you?" She asked, and Ziva couldn't even form words. The woman turned her head, eyeing her, "You look like you're maybe not from here…do you speak English?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes at the woman and the blonde backed up a little, unsure of what her motives were.

"Look, you're kind of freaking me out here and the boys will be back any second so if you don't need anything…"

Ziva's lips parted slightly and she took another second and used the calmest voice her body would let her at that moment, "Hello." She managed.

The blonde's smile brightened again and she took a step back in Ziva's direction, "Oh, hey! Are you selling something, or?"

Ziva slowly shook her head, "No. I was looking for Tony, actually."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so glad you speak English!" She grabbed Ziva's hand and shook it quickly, "My name is Melissa. He's in the shower and John went to get some liquor for the poker game. Why don't you come in?" Ziva eyed her again and finally took a step inside, looking around the place that Tony had lived in for the last six months.

While the perky blonde seemed to be right at home with him, there were no pictures of her and Tony and the apartment was definitely not blonde-ified.

Thank god.

"So, um, I didn't get your name…"

Ziva's mouth opened again, but the door, which Ziva assumed was Tony's room opened, and he emerged, pulling his shirt over his head.

When he got it on and looked up, he stopped dead in his tracks. Blinking twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, he took a few steps towards her.

"Ziva." He finished walking to her and put his hands on her forearms, "What are you doing here?" He asked, a smile on his face.

Damn her, he had almost gotten to the point where he could deal with not seeing her every single day again.

But here she was in his apartment, standing there and looking as freaking gorgeous as only she could.

She looked over at Melissa to remind Tony that she was in the room, and Tony turned quickly, "Oh, Melissa, this is Ziva. Ziva, Melissa."

"Ziva, wow! What a beautiful name!"

"Thank you. It is nice to meet you." Ziva said.

"Yeah, you too!" Melissa said loudly. "You are so pretty!"

"Thank you." She said again. Tony smiled at the blonde and then turned back to Ziva, "So uh, what are you doing here?"

Ziva pressed her lips together for a second and stared into his emerald eyes, "I…" She sighed. Suddenly she began to wonder if she knew the English language, "I wanted to talk to you, but you are busy so…"

"What? No I'm not. Come in here." He wrapped his arm around her back and walked with her towards the door again, "Mel we're going in here to talk for a while. Start without me, k?"

Melissa gave Tony thumbs up and the two agents went into his bedroom. Tony closed and locked the door behind them for good measure.

Ziva left his grasp and walked around his bedroom, looking around at the furniture. It was remarkably similar to the one he had back in DC.

When she was satisfied with her short tour of his bedroom, she walked back to the front of the bed and sat down on it, crossing her arms and legs.

He was leaning on the wall next to the door, trying his hardest not to pin her against the bed like he used to. Damn, she had a way of getting to him without even trying, and he hated it.

"So I see that you have not changed much." She told him, and finally looked up at him.

Tony snapped out of his thoughts about having his way with her, "Huh? Oh, yeah. I tried to get it to feel like home."

"This is your home."

"No, it's not. It's where I live, not my home."

Ziva shrugged one shoulder and stood again, "I assume that it will become your home yes? A place for you and Melissa to raise your ten children."

"Me and who?" Tony said immediately.

Ziva motioned with her head towards the door. "You and the blonde."

Tony shook his head in a dramatic manner, "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I am not, nor will I ever be, dating Melissa."

"She seems pretty comfortable here." Ziva said, shrugging her shoulder again.

"That's because her husband, John, comes and plays poker every week with me and a few other guys. She tags along almost every single time because she has no friends."

"She seems nice…"

"Ziva I know that you know after spending what I'm assuming is maybe a grand total of five minutes with that girl that is she is annoying and ditzy as hell and not at all my type."

"She is breathing, yes?" She said quickly. Tony snapped his head up and looked right into her eyes. They were filled with hurt and disbelief and she knew she had taken it too far. Her lips opened and she tried to make an apology come out of her mouth, but his voice was heard instead.

Shit. He could fight bad guys all day long and come out on the other side without a scratch, but the woman in the room knew how to hurt him.

And she kept putting alcohol on the open wound.

"What are you doing here, David?" He asked her. Ziva closed her eyes and looked down at his floor at the sound of her last name instead of her first. She didn't mean to come in his house and attack him; well…she did, but certainly not verbally. And besides, he had every right to have whoever he wanted in here.

She finally met his gaze again and walked towards him slowly, standing at arms reach in front of him. "I am sorry, Tony. I did not mean that."

He shrugged his shoulders without unfolding his arms and crossed his legs again, "That's not me anymore." He told her plainly. "I told you that I wasn't dating anyone. I'm not." He sighed, "I can't."

She touched the top of his hand, rubbing his skin softly. "I am sorry." She said again.

Tony unfolded his arms and put his hands in his pockets, his thumbs hanging out of the top of them. "Is everyone okay back home?" He asked her back in his normal voice. When she didn't respond, he felt the need to explain, "Gibbs? Ducky? McGee? Abby? Palmer? Are they okay?"

Ziva blinked, "Yes, everyone is fine."

Tony nodded slowly, "Okay." She looked around again and after several minutes, he couldn't stand the silence anymore. He stood up straight and walked a couple of steps away from the wall, "Well, um, it sounds like John's back with the booze, and Robert and Donnie will be here soon, so would you like to play poker with us?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Oh, okay…well your welcome to hang out with Melissa, though I can't…" His words were cut off when Ziva's mouth ate them. She had pushed him against the wall so hard that he wasn't sure if it was the impact or her kiss that took his breath away.

She couldn't take it anymore, she had to kiss him or she was sure her body would explode.

He she had his shirt in bunched up in her fists, and she had no intention of letting him loose anytime soon. She moved her tongue across his lips and he finally opened his mouth to let her dive in further. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body flush to his, so she felt that it was okay to let go of his shirt. She flattened her hands on his chest and moved them up to his shoulders, letting her fingers feel his muscles through his shirt.

Good gracious, he had never been kissed like this before, even from her. Don't get him wrong- her kisses have always been out-of-this-world perfect. But now, she was putting every ounce of energy she had in her small body into this.

He wanted to stop. He needed to know why in the hell she was kissing him like this. But his arms and hands only pulled her even tighter to his body, and now he could feel every curve on her body.

They continued to make out like it was going out of style for several long and perfect minutes until a very loud beating on Tony's door was heard, making both of them almost jump out of their skin, "DiNozzo, what in the hell are you doing in there?! Get out here! We're waiting on you and if you don't come out soon, you're going to have to buy more beer!"

Tony rolled his eyes, and without moving away from her, leaned over and opened the door just enough so that he could look at the man on the other side, "Shut the hell up and go play poker or get the hell out. One of the two."

"Dude…"

"Donnie I am busy right now. So go sit in there and play, or go."

Donnie held up his hands and backed away from the door, "Fine, fine."

Tony slammed the door shut and locked it again. He breathed out heavily and rubbed Ziva's back slowly. His legs were now on either side of hers and her body couldn't possibly be any closer to his.

She continued to rub his shoulders and chest, letting her fingers drag across the fabric. "So, are you going to kiss me like that again? Dear god, please say yes." She let a smirk cross her face but he continued, "Or are you going to tell me why you're kissing me like that?"

Her smirk and grown into a smile and she kissed his chin, "You mean, I need a reason?"

He chuckled, "Hell no. But I'm merely curious."

She lifted her hand from his shirt and cupped his cheek. Her thumb rubbed back and fourth right beneath his eye. She sighed and had to think about how to put her thoughts into words. She had it all worked out on the plane, but now, it was all a blur. She told her brain to shut up and she just went with her gut. She spoke slowly and calmly, "I am finding it…nearly impossible to be without you lately."

A smile crossed his handsome face and he turned his lips into her palm and kissed it. "Zi…" He started. He brought his hand from her back and put it on top of hers, pulling her hand away from his head. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to hear you say that…a week ago."

She was very confused, "Why can't I say it now?"

He sighed, "You can. And I believe you." She lifted her eyebrows and tried to move backwards, but his hands were on her hips again and pulled her closer. "But I've got this nagging feeling that because I went up there and found you, you're just coming back to me because you have this need to thank me. And you don't have to."

She tried to move back again and he gripped her hips harder, "No, that's not what I mean…" He said. Geez, this was hard to put into words, "God knows that I want us to be together. The whole damn world knows, Zi. But I want you to want to be with me because you're in love with me, not because of what I did."

"Tony…"

"You fell out of love with me because of what I did before. That I get. I just want you to be honest with yourself and me."

She leaned up to his mouth again and gave him a slow, sweet kiss. It wasn't as intense as the last, but something about her mouth today rocked Tony's world. She broke the kiss and they took a few seconds to catch their breath, "Do you remember the day I came by your apartment to tell you that you did not have to leave DC?" He narrowed his eyes at her and nodded slowly, "And you kissed me and asked me if I felt anything?"

Again he nodded, unsure of where she was going with this.

"And I told you that I did not?"

Was she trying to kill him? Sheish. But he nodded again and she shook her head, "I lied. You shattered my heart into a million pieces again, Tony. And I let you, because, like you, I thought that if I did not see you everyday, it would be easier for me to forget about you and what you did. But it wasn't. Staring at your empty desk every single day is slowly killing me, and I cannot do it anymore. There is a part of me that needs you, and it was there before you came to find me. It will always be there, whether I want it to or not."

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, "Finally."

She closed her eyes and smiled at him while a couple of tears rolled down her cheek, "I love you, Anthony."

He lifted his hand again wiped her tears, and put his forehead against hers, "God, Ziva. You have no idea."


	7. Canned

The two federal agents stood there, one against the wall and the other pressed firmly against him. When they broke for air for the third time, Ziva ran her hands up his chest and he squeezed her ass.

She moaned and threw her head back, allowing him to attack the newly exposed flesh on her neck. Her right hand snaked to the back of his head, her nails scraping his scalp.

He continued his journey down her body and groaned when his lips hit fabric instead of her delicious golden skin.

He reluctantly moved his hands from her butt and brought them up to her shoulder, slowly pulling down the yellow shirt out of his way. Her hands still gripped the back of his head and the noises that came out of her mouth only made him want to throw her on his bed and rip her clothes off.

But his body was enjoying this as much as hers was, the way her body felt next to his, and it had been a while since his body got to do this to the woman he loved.

"DiNozzo, you've got to get out here and see this! You won't believe it, but I'm kicking Robert's ass!"

Tony groaned and detached his lips from her and put his hand on the handle of his bedroom door, but turned to look at Ziva, "Give me a second." He said.

Ziva smiled at him and put her hand on top of his. "Tony." He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. She leaned up and pressed a small, quick kiss on his lips, "Your friends would like to spend time with you."

He chuckled, "Yeah, but I want to spend time with you." He squeezed her ass again and she leaned up and kissed him below his ear. He groaned and squeezed her again and she sighed, leaning up to his ear.

"We can continue this later." She whispered into his ear, gently biting his ear lobe.

Tony groaned and wpulled her body flush against his again, "Not if you keep doing that we can't." He breathed.

Another kiss and she took a step back from him, and they both immediately missed each other's contact.

She pointed to the door and smirked at him, "Go and play cards with your friends."

He stood up straight and grabbed her hand, "Fine, but you are coming with me."

She shook her head slowly, "No, I will stay in here and read."

"Why?"

"Because I was not invited and your friends may not like…"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Hush. The guys will be happy to have a female at the table with an IQ over 50."

Ziva chuckled and allowed him to pull on her hand. The pair walked out of his room and Tony walked over to his kitchen, and then quickly came back, only to find Ziva standing there awkwardly, the three guys and one woman sitting at the table, "Did I ever tell you how damn annoying you are?" He asked, to no one in particular, but everyone knew he was talking about Donnie, "This is Ziva David." He told them, handing her a beer. He then put his arm around her and pointed at the people sitting at the table, "Ziva, you already met Melissa…and this is John, Donnie, and Robert."

Robert stood from the table and walked over to Ziva, taking her free hand in his and putting his lips on it gently. "It is nice to meet you, and god, you are gorgeous."

Ziva felt blood rush to her cheek and she looked over at Tony before replying. "Thank you."

"Do you have a sister?"

Ziva shook her head slowly, "No."

"A really hot mother that's single?"

Ziva shook her head again, "No."

"Any chance you want to leave him?" Robert asked, and that made everyone in the room laugh.

But Ziva turned serious again and pulled her hand from his grasp, "No, he is my love."

Tony smiled down at her and stepped closer, placing his hand on the small of her back and rubbing it a little.

Robert nodded and walked back to his seat, defeated. Tony and Ziva walked around the table and each pulled out a chair, sitting down onto it.

Tony reached down in the poker case and began pulling out plastic chips for each of them, "Do you know how to play poker, Zi?" Tony asked.

Ziva looked over at him and smirked, "Yes."

"You do?" Tony said, genuinely surprised. Ziva nodded and reached his leg under his chair, squeezing his thigh through his jeans. Tony smiled back at her and finished putting chips on the table.

Robert butted in again, "My god, she's perfect. Tony…where can I find somebody like her?"

Tony chuckled and began shuffling the deck of cards, "There's no one like her."

After three rounds, Ziva had beaten all of them three times, and Tony was convinced she had to be cheating somehow.

The conversation flowed lightly, the men talked about football, then baseball, and then the questions started at Ziva. Tony looked over at her just to make sure she was okay with answering them. She gave him a small, closed nod and he smiled back at her.

"So, Ziva, where are you from?" Melissa asked, a smile plastered on her face.

"Israel."

"Oh my god, do they have like wars and stuff over there?" Ziva scrunched her brows together and shook her head. Tony was right about this woman. "Oh, but it's like super hot there, right?"

She chuckled, "Yes, it is."

"I don't think I would ever leave the beach!" She giggled and John laughed, the rest of the table looked at each other in awe.

Tony passed the cards out and the next round began. The new player amazed the other four people around the table, and they each took turns asking questions. "So what made you come to America?"

Ziva put down on card and drew another, "I worked for Mossad, and the director of NCIS at the time opened up a temporary position as a liaison officer. I was chosen for the assignment."

Donnie nodded, "So when do you go back?"

Ziva shook her head, "I am not going back. I am now a NCIS special agent."

"Oh, like Tony!" Melissa said loudly. Ziva nodded. "So have you like ever been shot?"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other and then back over to Melissa, "Yes, I have. Several times."

"Oh my god, I would like die!"

Ziva shook her head in disbelief and waited on the others to lay down their cards. When it came to Tony's turn, he smiled over at Ziva and lay them down, "Two pair!"

Ziva chuckled, "That is very good, Tony."

He shrugged a shoulder, "Eh. Don't be intimidated. It takes years of poker practice to get to my level."

She pressed her lips together for a second, "Well I have played about three times in my entire lifetime. And I think I have what is called a "Full House"?"

Tony chuckled loudly, "Ziva, babe, you don't have a full house." Again, she smirked, laying down the cards next to his.

Tony felt his mouth fall open. Ziva laughed loudly and opened her arms for all of the poker chips to be stacked in her piles.

Melissa laughed loudly, "Well, I think I will get started on dinner!"

Ziva finally stopped laughing at the men and stood along with Melissa. "I will help you." She said.

"Oh, you don't have to! You should stay and play!"

Ziva didn't understand why this woman had to yell everything she said, "I will let the boys play. They need the practice." Tony put his hand over his heart.

"That hurts, Ziva. It hurts."

Ziva chuckled lightly and ran a hand through his hair. He leaned his head back and she kissed him before moving around the table again towards Melissa and the kitchen.

John was putting Ziva's and Melissa's chips back into the case, "She's great, man."

Tony nodded and took a sip of his bear, "Yeah, she is."

"Why haven't we met her before now?" Robert asked.

Tony was shuffling the cards again, "Well um, we've been dating for a while, but I...well, I messed everything up. And it wasn't fixable, but then some shit happened." He told them, and then began passing out cards.

"What kind of shit?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah, I wanna know too." Robert asked, "I want to know why in the hell you would let someone like that go."

Tony cut his eyes at the man, "I didn't want to let her go, lets make that crystal freakin' clear." The three men at the table nodded, and he sighed, "I had an ex-girlfriend, well, ex-fiancé, call me one day. I had a shitty day, and Ziva was in Paris on assignment, so she wasn't there. Not that any of it was her fault, but she wasn't there."

"You slept with her, didn't you? This…ex-fiancé of yours." Robert asked.

Tony put down his cards and took a few sips of his beer, "No, not exactly. But I was drunk and I probably would've if Ziva didn't walk in when she did."

"Oof, was she naked?" John asked.

"No, nobody was naked. But there were clothes hanging off of us. And the only thing to actually happened was that I kissed her."

"So Ziva forgave you, right? I mean, you said you were drunk…" Donnie said.

Tony shook his head, "No, she didn't. And I don't blame her. Everything with us was perfect, and I fucked it up. I was ready to ask her to marry me. That's how perfect things were."

The poker game had completely stopped, and the three men were leaning against the table, very interested in Tony's story. "So, why is she here tonight if she didn't forgive you?"

He chuckled, "That's just the beginning of…everything."

"So what happened next man?" John asked.

Tony sighed, "We yelled, yelled again, she said she didn't trust me, I was pissed, she was pissed, yelled some more. And then we had a talk, and she told me she was going back to Mossad with that bastard of a father of hers. I wouldn't have it. So I told her I was coming to Kings Bay so she wouldn't have to leave."

All four men turned their heads towards the kitchen when a loud crashing of a pot was heard, and then the two women laughing filled the room. Tony leaned back in his chair, "Everything okay in there?"

Laughing was heard again, "Fine!" They yelled, and Tony chuckled, sitting up straight in his chair.

"Anyway, we were on a case to find a man that was doing crazy illegal stuff and head of a gang. We found their hideout, or whatever, and I got shot."

"Dude, you did not get shot!" Donnie said.

"Yeah man, I did, more than once. " He pointed to places on his body, "So then I was in a coma and I was putting more shit onto Ziva. When I woke up and got back home, she told me that she…"

He stopped. The words were caught in the back of his throat. He couldn't make them come out.

Ziva was pregnant.

She _was _pregnant.

He shook his head, more to himself than to anything else. He would never forgive himself for that.

Not ever.

"She told me that even though she cared for me, she couldn't love me. I told her that I got it and that I would come here."

"So she came after you, right?" John asked.

He laughed, "No, not exactly. She was held hostage about a week and a half ago. And I did some more stupid shit in trying to find her, but damn it, I found her."

"Oh, you really were out of town when I called you about that blind date." Robert said.

Tony nodded, "Yeah, but I wouldn't have gone anyway, man." Robert sighed and shook his head as Tony continued, "So McGee and I found her and she's okay, and I'm okay. We're okay."

"Damn it man. I had no idea you came down here with all that shit on your shoulders."

Tony laughed and picked up his cards, "Yeah. But it's gone now."

The three men laughed and picked up their own cards, John discarding one and picking up another, "You gonna marry her?"

Tony couldn't help the smile that came about his face, "If she'll have me."

* * *

"If you'll make the salads, that'd be so much help!" Melissa said.

Ziva nodded, "Sure."

"Thanks so much! Usually we just order pizza and have a beer or two on poker night. But I told them I wanted to cook something special this time!"

The Israeli smiled and began chopping lettuce, "Well I am sure they will love spaghetti."

Melissa nodded proudly, "It's my favorite too."

Ziva laughed, "What do you do, Melissa?"

"Oh, my friends call me Mel! I work at Macy's."

Ziva pressed her lips together and debated on whether to call her Melissa or Mel. Could she be a friend with somebody like this?

She didn't know. Smiling at the thought, "That sounds nice."

"Oh my god I love it! I could never be like a policewoman like you are."

Ziva laughed, "I am a federal agent."

"Oh yeah! I know! That is so scary to me!"

Ziva nodded in agreement, "It is scary sometimes."

Melissa shook her head, "I could not even imagine! But I would like working with all those hot guys."

Ziva laughed, "Hot guys?"

Melissa was cooking the sausage for the Italian meal, "Is that why you starting dating Tony, because he carries a gun? I just find that so sexy in a man."

"I have been around men with guns all my life, so it does not influence my dating choices." She pulled out the bag of shredded cheese and began sprinkling some on each bowl of salad.

Melissa laughed and continued stirring the sauce, "Well you got very lucky, young lady. I really like Tony, he seems like a really great guy."

Ziva looked at her and nodded, "He is."

She smiled again, "In fact, if I didn't marry John, I'd fight you for him."

Ziva laughed and wondered how many ways she could hurt this woman with the cucumber that she was chopping up, "I am sure you are very happy with John. He seems nice."

"He's great, but we argue. A lot."

She nodded again, "Yes, well, men and women are very different. Arguing is completely normal."

Melissa nodded back at her, "Yeah, but I wish he would just listen to my thoughts and stop being so closed minded sometimes." She was now talking softer, a task that Ziva was sure she found difficult.

"You should talk to him," Ziva told her. She rolled her eyes at herself, who in the hell was she to give relationship advice?

"Yeah, maybe I should."

It became awkwardly quiet between the two, the only sounds was the sauce cooking and the water boiling for the noodles. Melissa began opening and closing cabinets, "Do you see the noodles anywhere?"

Ziva looked around the counter, "No."

"Aw shoot. I must have forgot them! Tony!"

"Yeah?" Tony called from the other room.

"Do you have any spaghetti noodles here?"

"The only thing I had other than what you brought over is two-week-old milk, pizza from last poker night a month ago, and beer!"

Melissa sighed while Ziva laughed. Yep, that sounded like Tony.

"Okay, I'll have to go buy some." She leaned down and grabbed a lid from the cabinet, "Would you mind watching this? Stirring it every now and then?"

Ziva nodded at her. Cool, a promotion. "No problem."

"Okay, thanks!" She hurried out of the kitchen and then out of the apartment, and as soon as she heard the door close she started on the canned sauce, adding spices and herbs to it to try and make it less…canned.

Tony walked in and over to her, peering over her shoulder. Without turning around, she inhaled his delicious scent and leaned back on him. "What are you doing in here?" Ziva said.

He shrugged a shoulder, "Just seeing what you're doing. Is that…canned?"

Ziva chuckled, "Your friend Melissa made it." He put his hands on her hips and tried to move her aside, but she didn't budge, "What are you doing?"

He leaned down and kissed her shoulder, "I'm gonna fix the sauce so it's edible."

She turned around in his arms and he wrapped them around her, "I have already taken care of that." She told him, and he laughed, leaning down to place another kiss on her.

"But you didn't use my famous DiNozzo recipe."

"No, I used the Ziva David method."

He scoffed playfully, "Mine is so much better."

She reached up and patted his cheek, "We will see."

He smiled down at her, pulling her tight to his body. "I missed this, Ziva." He said honestly.

She put her hands on his chest, "I missed it too."

He shook his head and sighed, "I won't let anything like what happened come between us again. Ever."

She nodded, "I know."

"I want us to work more than anything." He told her.

She nodded again and ran her hands up his chest, "I am glad we're on the same book."

He smiled. Damn it, she was so freakin' cute. "Page." He said, "We're on the same page."

She whacked him in the chest, "Whatever you call it."

Laughing again, he leaned down to her and placed his lips on hers, the two of them getting lost in each other.

They only stopped when Melissa had returned, clearing her throat. "I hope you did not let my sauce burn!" She said, smiling a little.

Tony kissed her again and then stepped away, grabbing a beer out of the fridge, "Nope, it's perfect."

Ziva smiled at him as he left the kitchen. She returned to her duty of making the salads.

Things were good again.

Thank God.


	8. Choice

**Just a quick note to remind you guys how awesome you all are. I'm getting tons of favorites and follows and reviews and I appreciate it very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. **

**Now, with that being said, please try and not hate me when you finish this chapter. I get them all warm and fuzzy again and then boom! something like this has to happen. Try to stick with me. You love the drama, though, right? :)**

**Another warning: this chapter has quite a few swear words. It's already rated T and that's what it will stay, for now at least (there may be some steamy scenes in the future. We'll see.) **

**Last but certainly not least, the disclaimer: Let me check...Nope. Still not mine.**

* * *

Ziva let out another scream as her body shook with immense pleasure. She detached herself from Tony and lay down on the bed, out of breath and extremely satisfied. Tony wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again, kissing her softly.

Once her breathing slowed to normal speed, she turned over and backed herself up until her naked body was flush with his. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned up to place another kiss on her neck.

"Did I tire you out?" He whispered into her ear.

She turned her head and smiled at him through the darkness, "Absolutely not. I am just giving you a break. I do not believe you could handle another round."

He laughed at her belief, "Trust me darling, I will never get enough of you." She smiled at him again and leaned over to kiss him. He rubbed his hand up and down her side and continued this until her eyelids became too heavy to hold open.

Tony was exhausted, a little because he hadn't slept in a while, but mainly because Ziva just wore the shit out of him-not that he'd ever tell her that. But his mind was running a marathon.

There were questions, tons of them. Although they had seemed to be finally fixed, there was stuff to hammer out and he needed to do it so that he could get a full nights sleep.

"How are things at headquarters?" He said softly.

Ziva yawned and looked up at him, her lips on his chin, "Fine. I think McGee and Abby are dating."

Tony chuckled softly, "I always knew that would happen again."

"Palmer and Breena are apparently fighting because he wants children right away and she wants to wait a year or two."

He sighed and closed his tired eyes, "Palmer will make a great father."

Ziva nodded into his neck, "I agree."

Silence fell onto them for several minutes. Ziva was almost sound asleep when Tony grabbed her arm gently, "Zi?"

If she weren't so tired she probably would've shot him, "Hm?"

He let out a sigh and braced himself to ask the question that was burning in the back of his mind. "What do you think about moving here? With me?" She laughed while keeping her eyes closed, mainly because she honestly thought he was joking.

But when he let go of her arm and threw his legs off of the bed, she opened her eyes and sat up with him, "What?" She said.

He only sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "Why don't you move here?"

"Washington is our home." She said plainly.

He finally turned to face her again, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten into this tonight. I know you're exhausted." He grinned at her, leaning over to kiss her, but she backed up from him.

She was wide awake now, "No, Tony. Why do you not want to go home?"

He shook his head, "It's not that I don't." He told her, "But I know Jethro. And I know what he's going to say."

"No you do not." She said. He looked into her eyes, "You have not even talked to him!"

"Yeah, but…"

"Tony he still has not filled your chair. That says…something!"

"Ziva, babe, calm down." He turned to her and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her body close to his, "I only meant that it's a possibility that I will have to stay here."

"No…" She pushed on his shoulders and stood from the bed, walking over to her suitcase and unzipping it. She slipped on some underwear and a t-shirt. "Gibbs will allow you back on the team. I know he will."

Tony shook his head, "No you don't." He walked over to his dresser and put on boxers, "He has trust issues."

She pointed to herself, "He let me come back."

"Yeah, but you're Ziva. You're like a daughter to him. You saved his life, you're an excellent agent, and he loves you. You are his family."

"Tony, you are his family."

"No, Ziva. I was. I _was_ his family. I left." He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and finger. "In Gibbs eyes, I'm disowned. I left the team, the family. There's no fixing that."

She shook her head, "I think you should talk to him."

"I don't know what good it will do." Tony let out a sigh and moved the blankets on the bed, getting back into it and covering himself up, "There's no use in arguing about it tonight. I'm tired. Come on, let's get some sleep."

She rolled her eyes and unfolded her arms, moving over to the bed. She got into it and moved over to him, but stopped him again when he started to wrap his arms around her, "Promise me that you will talk to him." He looked into her brown eyes through the darkness.

"Okay."

She wanted him to say more, but she was way too exhausted to fight with him. She moved next to his body and he covered her up with the blanket. "Do not think I missed the fact that you said you were tired."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Not from you," He told her, "I've been up since 0500h."

She leaned up and kissed him, "Sure you have."

* * *

It was the next night and the time read 2109h. Tony sighed, his hand hovering over Gibbs' doorknob. He took another deep breath and placed his hand on the metal, turning it slowly.

He slowly walked through the house, looking around at the things that hadn't moved since he'd been there last.

He briefly wondered when the last time he was at Gibbs' house. He shook his head as he made his way through the kitchen, towards the basement. Either he had a serious case of CRS or it had been a very, very long time.

Trips to Gibbs house for Tony usually meant something was wrong with him, the team, or somebody else close to him. He associated this particular structure with bad news, and he had a sickening feeling in his gut that today's conversation wouldn't help that.

He stuck his hands in his pockets at the top of the basement stairs, watching his former boss work. He rolled his eyes and walked down the steps, dragging his fingers against the wood rail.

When his feet hit the concrete, he crossed his arms and leaned against the stairs. He felt like he needed to let Gibbs know that he was standing in the room. The silver haired man hadn't even looked up at him, and Tony found himself wondering if he actually knew he was there.

"Gibbs." He finally said.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and kept them on his work, "What in the hell do you want, DiNozzo?"

Tony sighed. Yep, this was not going to go well, "I uh…was hoping we could talk."

"Isn't that what you're doing now?" Gibbs walked back over to his workspace and pulled another tool out of the toolbox.

"I was wondering if you would be…"

"Save it, DiNozzo." He threw the wrench on the table with the boat on it, "Do you think this is how this works?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at the man, "How what works?"

"This is not a fucking circus. You can't come in here and tell me that you want your job back just because you and Ziva are back together for now. If I put you back in that chair you're going to do the same fucking thing in 4 months. And I can't have that. So no."

"In 4 months? What in the hell do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what it means." He shot back. Gibbs blue eyes were staring into Tony's green ones.

Tony let out a long and hard sigh and spoke through gritted teeth, "That is not me anymore, and you know it."

"Yeah?" Gibbs chuckled sarcastically, "Why did you and Ziva break up in the first place? Refresh my memory." Tony took his stare off of Gibbs but the special agent in charge kept on, "Oh yeah, I know now. You cheated on her."

Tony felt like he needed to go to the hospital and get checked out for the blow that Gibbs just delivered. It hurt, and Gibbs knew it hurt him. Gibbs went back to his work and Tony turned to the table, looking at the liquor bottle that was near empty. He wondered how full it was before Gibbs had started drinking.

Gibbs wasn't drunk, and Tony didn't think that he'd ever seen the man drunk. But he wasn't sober and that was partly why he was acting this way. He swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke softly, "I made a mistake, Gibbs. I lost her and I hated myself. We've begun to repair us but it will take some time. And for it to happen I need to come back here."

"You should have thought of that before you left." Gibbs spat.

He unfolded his arms and took a few steps towards him, "What is the problem with me coming back?"

"You left."

"You know why I left." Tony shot back.

"I told you not to. I told your stubborn ass to stay and work it out. And if you really loved her, you would have done just that."

Tony felt his mouth fall open. "You know how much I love her, Gibbs. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"Yeah, and you fucked that up too." Gibbs said and then picked his tool up, starting on the screws again.

Tony balled his fists and really had to stop himself for laying one of them on his face. "Gibbs you don't have the fucking right to talk to me like that. I'm not on your team anymore."

Gibbs dropped the tool again and turned to him, "Damn right your not. And you will never be again. Get the hell out of my house. Go back to Kings Bay where you belong."

Tony had enough, "I don't know why I even bothered. I knew you would act like this. You are a stubborn and arrogant asshole and I can't believe I considered you more of a father than my own."

Gibbs watched as his former senior field agent climbed his basement stairs and waited until he heard his front door slam before returning to his work.

* * *

Ziva looked up at her door when she heard it open. She turned off her TV and stood, walking over to him. "That took a long time." She said softly.

Tony nodded, "Yeah." Actually, it didn't. The conversation with Gibbs was about 15 horrible minutes long and the rest of the two hours Tony sat in his car, thinking. He walked over to the kitchen and pulled Ziva's liquor down, pouring himself some in a glass. "Do you want some?"

Ziva shook her head, "No thank you."

He sighed, "Ok."

She couldn't wait to ask him anymore, "What happened?"

He moved to her couch and sat down on it, putting and crossing his legs up on her coffee table. She followed him and sat down, placing her hand on his arm.

He put his hand on top of hers, "I love you, Ziva."

She looked at the side of his face. Shit, was he dying? Did Gibbs hit him and cause him to bleed internally? She felt her heart go into overdrive, but kept her voice calm when she spoke again, "I love you too." She said.

Finally looking at her, he smiled, "Good." He sighed and sipped on his drink and then turned towards her, "I'm not coming back to DC." He said softly.

She felt her mouth fall open, "Why not?"

Tony shook his head, "Gibbs doesn't want me to."

Ziva shook her head, "Maybe you should talk to the director."

Tony shook his head, "Vance told me when I left that if I wanted to come back I would have serious hoops to jump through, and that I would need Gibbs' blessing. I don't have that."

"I do not believe this." She said, letting go of his arm and standing from the couch. "Did one of us break a leg?"

Tony looked up at her, confused. "What?"

"Why are we having so much bad luck?"

He laughed, standing up with her. "Break a leg is for good luck. Breaking a mirror is bad luck." He smiled at her and kissed her.

"Why would you want somebody to break his or her leg?"

He shrugged one shoulder, "I don't know. I've never really gotten that one either."

She rolled her eyes, "Why is the Universe determined for us not to be together?"

He shook his head, and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know, Zi."

She sighed, "What if you were to leave NCIS and just get a job in DC?"

He pulled back from her and returned to the couch, "I've considered it. But I've worked to hard to get to where I am. I won't find another job like this one."

She sat down next to him, "Tony…"

"I've been through my options." He shook his head, "None of them are gonna make this work but one."

"Which one is that?" She asked him.

He sighed and turned to her, placing his hand on her face, rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "I want to be with you more than anything." He whispered.

"You are with me." She told him.

Tony smiled and nodded, the next words were choking him and he found it very hard to say, "I have to stay in Kings Bay." She was staring right into his emerald eyes and he swallowed. "I want you to come with me." She felt her own breath catch in her throat, but he held up a finger telling her to wait before she spoke. "I know what NCIS and DC mean to you. They are your family, I know that."

She swallowed, "Tony…"

"Wait." He said, "This is hard for me." He took another sip of the liquor, "I want you to think about what you want to do. If you want to stay here with Gibbs, McGee, Abby and Ducky, I'll understand. I know what they mean to you. He pressed his lips together, "I want us to get married and live a happy life together, but I can't be here anymore."

She felt a tear roll down her face and damn it, she was doing that a lot these days. "I'll wait for you." He said to her, "I'm not breaking up with you or saying that I don't want to be with you. That is completely not true."

She nodded, "I know." Her voice broke and another tear escaped.

"Take your time and make a decision." He said. "It's a big change for both of us, no matter what you choose. I'll love you either way, okay?" She nodded and he cupped her face and pulled it to his, kissing her softly and then into a hug.

Shit.

What was she going to do now?


	9. Sadie

**I'm just going to go ahead and say this: Next week's NCIS looks...wow. I don't even have words. All I know is I can't wait for Tuesday to get here, what about you? **

**Tony is seriously out of character below, but hey, it's fiction, right? **

**Reviews make my day!**

**Disclaimer: These people are still not mine, but thanks for asking.**

* * *

8 Months, 2 Weeks, 6 Days, 3 Hours, 48 Minutes Later….

"Hey Sadie!" Tony said, just as excited to see her as she was to see him. He put down his backpack and gun and then leaned down to hug her, "You're such a pretty girl. You want to go for a walk, huh? Do you?"

The German Shepard dog jumped up and down at the agent's legs as Tony walked to his bedroom, slipping off his suit jacket and pulling on his tie. He was changed into gym shorts and a t-shirt shortly after and walked out of his bedroom with a leash, "You ready baby girl? You ready?"

He leaned down and clipped her leash to her collar and headed out the door, sticking his earphones in his ear and pressing play on his iPod.

He was already halfway through the park when Sadie's leash caught on something and jerked him to a stop. He pulled her back over to him and looked up at the other dog owner who had stopped her run, "Hey, sorry about that."

She smiled down at him as he untangled the canines and pet her Golden Retriever on the head. She pulled her ear bud out of her ear and leaned down to pet Tony's dog, "It's no problem at all. What's her name?"

Tony grinned back at her, "Uh, Sadie."

"She's beautiful." She petted the retriever on his head, "This is Danny."

He smiled at her and leaned down to pet him, "Hey Danny, nice to meet you." After standing back to his full form, he shook the woman's hand, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Tony."

"I'm Brooke." The two of them watch Lady and Danny play for several minutes until Brooke spoke again, "So um, Tony, do you live close?"

Tony chuckled and leaned down, unbuckling Sadie's leash and pulling a toy ball out of his pocket, "Does Danny fetch?"

Brooke laughed and nodded, "Sure." She undid his leash and Tony threw the ball, and both dogs took off after it. "So you didn't answer my question."

Tony sat down on the bench and she followed, crossing her legs and tucking her hair behind her ear. He chuckled again, "Yeah I live about 3 miles away."

"Do you run this path everyday? I've never seen you before."

"No, I usually run around the park, not through it. Since it's early I decided to go and play a little fetch." Tony reached down and pulled the rubber ball out of Sadie's mouth, throwing it again.

"Oh, well I've lived here my whole life, and know everybody who lives here, but I don't know you…are you from here?"

Tony shook his head, "No, I moved here about a year and a half ago."

"Oh okay." She cleared her throat, "I know this is awful forward of me, but are you single?"

He pressed his lips together and thought about how to answer her question. Technically, yes, he was single. But no, he didn't want to date her or any other woman for that matter. He still wanted Ziva, and a day didn't go by when she didn't cross his mind. He didn't want to waste Brooke's time and try a date or two when he knew it wasn't going to do anything for him but make him miss Ziva even more. He realized she was still staring at him and waiting on his answer when he cleared his throat and turned to her on the bench.

"Brooke, you are a beautiful woman, and about 2 years ago, I wouldn't think twice about asking you out on a date. But I left someone in DC…" He stopped and laughed sarcastically, "…that I wanted to marry. I love her, and I don't think it's going to go away. I'll only waste your time."

Brooke smiled at him, "Hey, I understand that. But you won't know until you try, right?" Tony turned to her and smiled.

"I have tried, Brooke." He shook his head and stared at the ground, "It won't work."

"Well if you love this woman so much, why did you leave her?"

Tony turned the rubber ball over in his hands, driving the two dogs crazy before throwing it again. "It's a long story."

Brooke nodded, "Okay, well, here's my number." She wrote it down on his hand, "And if you feel like sharing your story with me, among other things, you give me a call." She stood from the bench and took the ball out of Danny's mouth, putting it in Tony's hand. She clipped his leash and stuck one ear bud back in her ear, "I hope to hear from you, Tony."

He watched them as they jogged away, and then stared at his numbered hand after he threw the ball again. He shook his head and used his left thumb to wipe the seven numbers off of his hand.

There was no point.

* * *

It was an hour later when Tony and Sadie got back to his apartment. He unclipped the dog and she ran over to her water dish, lapping up the water. He had already taken off his shoes and socks for a shower when there was a knock on his door.

He let out a sigh and walked over to it. He was shocked to see the person standing on the other side, "McGee." He said, and he couldn't help the smile that stretched over his face.

"Hey Tony."

He moved out of the way and let his former partner inside, "It's great to see you."

McGee stuck his hands in his pocket and nodded, 'It's good to see you too, and holy crap you have a dog." He leaned down and began to pet Sadie.

Tony ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, yeah. There was an agent at work who had a litter of them and I got her."

"German Shepard's are great, huh?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, she's a great dog. Do you still have Jethro?"

McGee nodded, "Yeah, he's still with me."

"Do you want a beer?" Tony asked, heading over to his refrigerator.

"No thanks, I can't stay long. I've got to catch another flight back tonight." McGee walked to his mantle where it still held pictures of the team and of Tony and Ziva, "Not much has changed, huh?"

Tony opened a beer for himself, "No. Nothing has changed."

Tim picked up the picture of everyone, including Gibbs, at a bar, holding their drink of choice up to the camera and smiling, "This was a good night. It was right after we caught that bastard we were hunting for two months."

He took a giant gulp of his beer and nodded, "Yeah, you know if Gibbs was there it had to be a big celebration." He sat down on the couch behind McGee and sighed, "How is the old man?"

McGee sat down the picture and turned to him, sticking his hands in his pockets again, "He's fine, I guess."

Tony swirled the liquid in his beer bottle and stared at the wall, "How is everyone else?"

McGee nodded again, "Everybody's good, Tony." He took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, leaning on the mantle beside him, "We miss you around the office. It's quiet."

Tony finally took his stare off the wall and laughed, "What? New guy not as funny or charming as me?"

McGee shook his head, "What new guy?"

Tony looked at him and turned his head, "The new guy filling my chair."

McGee shook his head and laughed, "There is no guy filling your chair."

Tony felt his mouth fall open. "He replaced me with a girl?"

Again, McGee shook his head, "No, Tony. Nobody is in your chair. He hasn't replaced you."

He scoffed and took another sip of his beer. "I find it hard to believe that Gibbs has let a chair sit empty for that long, McGoo."

McGee raised his eyebrows, and chuckled softly. "Believe it."

He took a few minutes to think about that, although he still didn't believe it. He also couldn't believe that Vance hadn't made Gibbs fill the chair. What about that? He shook his head at nothing and only snapped out of it when McGee sat down on the other end of his couch.

"Do you like it here?"

Tony shrugged a shoulder, "It's still not home."

"You don't think talking to Gibbs again would help?"

He shook his head, "No, I don't. He had his mind set and you know how stubborn he is."

McGee nodded slightly, "I get it, but still, I think you should try."

Tony laughed, "Oh boy. Here we go again. Did Abby or Ziva send you down here to tell me that?"

McGee nodded, "Abby sent me down here, but it wasn't to tell you that."

Tony narrowed his eyes, "Let me guess. You need some help with a case that probably falls in the jurisdiction of my expertise and Gibbs won't call me because he's Gibbs, and you've been working on it for three weeks and still don't have any leads, so Abby is tired of Gibbs snapping at everybody to solve it, and she sent you down here to tell me to come help, right?"

McGee laughed, "No, not exactly, but that's a good guess."

Tony chuckled, "Okay, then what is it?" His face fell and he suddenly got extremely worried, "Is somebody hurt?"

"No, no. Everybody is good. Healthy." McGee said. Tony sighed and took a deep breath and waited on him to continue, "You know Abby and I have been seeing each other again for a while, right?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together and nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"Well about a month ago, I uh…" He stopped and chuckled, "I asked her to marry me."

"You did what?" McGee only nodded to confirm it and Tony chuckled, "That's awesome, McGee, congratulations!" Tony patted him on the back.

"Yeah, it feels pretty good." He swallowed and stood from the couch, "So we've started planning and everything, and Abby has been bugging the crap out of me to pick a best man, and I couldn't because he's not in the office anymore." Tony stood from the couch and waited on him again, "So I came down to ask you if you would be my best man."

Tony smiled and gave the junior agent a bro hug, "Of course I will."

McGee grinned, "Okay, thanks Tony."

"Thanks for asking me. It means a lot."

McGee pressed his lips together and cleared his throat. "Abby has chosen Ziva to be her maid of honor, so I hope you will be okay with walking down the aisle with her."

Tony laughed, "I have no problem with it, but you may want to check with Ziva."

McGee shook his head, "Abby already asked her and she's fine with it."

Tony looked down at the ground, "Yeah, it was supposed to happen anyway." He took a deep breath and shook his head, "That's awesome, Tim. I can't believe it finally happened."

McGee nodded in agreement, "Yeah, me either. I love her."

Tony smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "It's a good feeling, huh?"

McGee nodded, "Yeah." He sighed, "Well I should get back, we're on a case. I already had a ticket bought to fly down here so when he sent us home for the night I ran to the airport."

Tony nodded and laughed, walking to the door with him, "Okay. It was good to see you."

McGee smiled, "Yeah, you too. We haven't set a date, but when we do, I'll give you a call."

He nodded, "Okay, sounds good."

McGee leaned up and gave him another bro hug, "Thanks again Tony."

Tony smiled, "Later man."

He leaned on the doorframe and watched as Tim walked down his sidewalk and got into the rental car. Sadie came and stood by him, looking out the door. Tony sighed and looked down at her, "He's getting married, Sadie. Before I am."

Sadie looked up at him and barked.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either." He sighed and shook his head, "It was supposed to be me."


	10. Not As Easy As Cake

**I think McGee and Abby are a little bit out of character below, and possibly even Tony. Sorry about that, but again, it's fiction. *big smile***

**Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me. My head just hasn't been in a fanfic place lately, got a lot of stuff on my mind. But hang in there and I'll update as much as my full brain will let me. **

**Disclaimer: "At lo levad." - Tony DiNozzo. *squeal*. Oh, yeah, they're not mine. **

* * *

Ziva hung up her office phone and looked over at McGee, who was writing something on paper, his head down. She pushed herself up from her desk and walked over to him. She was so quiet that he jumped when she spoke.

"God, Ziva. What have I told you about that?"

She smiled, pleased that she still had the ability to do that to grown men, "I am sorry, McGee, but I was wondering if you knew where Abby went?"

McGee sighed, "Yeah, she went cake testing."

Ziva scrunched her eyebrows together, "And you are not cake testing with her?"

He shook his head, "No, she wouldn't let me come." He shrugged a shoulder and picked up his coffee cup, sipping on it slowly before speaking again, "Apparently, I am the worst decision maker ever." Ziva tried to not look like she agreed with the bride, but her face clearly showed it and McGee made a face back at her, "I can make a decision!"

Ziva chuckled and lightly smacked his cheek, "I am sure you can, McGee."

When she turned and started towards her desk, he stood up and followed her, "Why do you need Abby?"

Ziva waved her hand, "I just have something to ask her about the wedding."

"Well, why don't you ask me? You know, I'm in it too."

She chuckled and wiggled her finger at him, "I know you are Tim but this is probably something Abby knows more about."

He stared down at her and put his hands on his hips, his eyebrows furrowed together, "See you girls don't have any faith in me! How am I supposed to prove that I can make a good decision if I don't have the chance to…."

Ziva sighed and rubbed her temples, "Okay, Tim." He stopped his rant and waited on her to continue, "I have a friend from Tel Aviv that will be here on the week of your wedding and I wanted to make sure it was okay if I bring him along."

McGee's eyes grew big and he ran a hand through his hair. He cleared his throat, and stuck his awkward hands in his pockets. "Yeah, sure, I don't see how one more chicken could be a problem. I'll uh, let her know."

She smiled at him and stood up to kiss him on the cheek, "Thanks Tim." He nodded at her as she sat back down at her desk and he turned to walk to his own.

"I would've chosen the lemon." At Ziva's confused look, he elaborated more, "For the cake. Lemon is a good pick, right?"

Ziva pressed her lips together and stood from her desk again, "It is good that Abby did not allow you to go with her." She laughed at him and walked around her desk to the restrooms.

McGee sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands. He knew, now, that Ziva was really, really, really done with Tony.

And he hated it.

About an hour later, McGee knew from the text he got from his fiancé that she was back down in the lab.

He had to look around for her when he walked into the lab, but immediately knew where she was when she fired a shot into the ballistics machine. He walked through the sliding glass doors and stepped over to her stereo, turning it down so that his ears would stop ringing.

She removed her ear protection and looked up, smiling at him when she realized she had company.

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before she spoke, "So I'm pretty excited about this cake. It's marble cake with chocolate frosting and he's going to make it black with Ziva's dress color the as the accent."

Tim smiled and nodded, "Sounds delicious."

"It was so good." She walked over to her computer and began typing on it, "Sorry, but Balboa needs this ASAP."

McGee shook his head, "It's okay. I'll come back when you're not busy."

Abby grabbed onto his arm, "No, just wait a second. Won't take me long." He swallowed and nodded slowly, "So are you guys working on cold cases or building magnetic paper clip men?"

He chuckled, "Filing paperwork, mostly."

Abby sighed, "Gibbs should just let us go home when it's this slow. There are a million and two things to do for the wedding."

McGee ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, but I don't think that's going to happen."

She turned to him and furrowed her eyebrows together, "What's wrong with you?"

He quickly shook his head, "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You're quiet."

He shrugged one shoulder, "No reason, just have something to tell you."

She eyed him for a couple of seconds longer before turning back to her computer. A few minutes passed and she hung up the phone from Balboa with his results. Abby walked back to the front of her lab and grabbed his arm, pulling on it for him to follow her pass the sliding glass doors. She locked them and pushed on his shoulders for him to sit at her desk.

She sat down on his lap and locked her fingers behind his neck, "Now, what's on your mind?"

He grinned at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I say we should have talks like this from now on."

She smiled, but didn't respond to his statement, "So, what's wrong?"

He shook his head again, "Nothing's wrong. I just may have done something stupid."

Abby looked at him with wondering eyes, "What do you mean?"

He sighed and pressed his lips together for a second. "I kind of accidentally told Ziva she could bring somebody to the wedding."

Abby's face relaxed a little, "Oh, okay. That's fine, we're gonna have plenty of food."

McGee shook his head, "Well um, this person…" She looked at him again, waiting on him to continue, "Is a man. I think she might possibly be seeing him."

Abby stared at him for a couple of seconds before she stood from his lap, walking around her lab angrily, "How are we supposed to get Tony and Ziva back together if you told her she could bring a date? What were you thinking?!"

McGee sighed, "I didn't think, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do now."

"What to do? Tony is coming all the way up here to be your best man! He can't see Ziva with another man! Sitting with her, dancing with her, kissing her! It'll kill him!"

He stood from the chair and walked over to her, "I know it will. But I've been thinking about this for a while and I think I've come up with a solution."

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "You made the mess, Timmy. Now I've got to clean it up."

"Will you just listen to my solution?" She rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms, putting her hands on her hips instead, "What if I tell Tony the truth and have him bring a date too?"

She shook her head quickly, "No, McGee! We're trying to get them together again, not further apart!"

"I know, but then Ziva will get jealous that Tony has a date and Tony will get jealous because Ziva has a date and they'll argue! At least when they argue, they'll talk!"

Abby sighed, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Tim's face fell and she smiled, "But it might work." She pointed at him, "But you've got to make sure Tony knows to bring a friend, not an actual person he's dating, because that really would be disastrous."

McGee shrugged a shoulder, "He told me he wasn't dating anybody anyway."

"Make sure he knows!"

He put up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. I will."

She smiled because she just won another argument, and stood on the tip of her toes to kiss him, "Good. Call him."

McGee nodded and turned to walk out of her lab, only to run into Ziva on the way out. She smiled at him, "McGee, Gibbs got a call."

Tim nodded, "Okay. See you at home Abs." Ziva watched as McGee got onto the elevator and held the doors open, "You coming Ziva?"

"Yes, I will be right up."

McGee nodded once and let the doors shut.

Abby smiled at her friend and put her hands on her shoulders, "Got the cake picked out, I'm so excited!"

Ziva smiled, "That is great Abby." She shoved her thumb backwards to the door, "Did McGee tell you that I wanted to bring someone to the wedding?"

Abby frowned and nodded, "Yeah, he did, but Ziva…"

"If it is too much of an inconvenience, it will not be any problem at all…"

"No, it's not that at all." She sighed, "But you know Tony is going to be at our wedding, right?"

Ziva nodded, "Yes, I assumed he would be, because he is McGee's best man, yes?"

"Yes, he is, but that's not my point."

Ziva was confused, "Then what is your point?"

"My point is…" She sighed, "Ziva, don't you have any feelings left for Tony?"

Ziva shook her head, "Abby, I will always love him, but…"

"But nothing! So if you will always love him, why do you think it's okay to bring a date to a place where you know he'll be?"

"Abby, Tony and I have not spoken in many months, but the last time we did speak we agreed that we would return to being friends. And as a friend, he will be find that I am bringing another man to the wedding."

Abby didn't believe her, "So are you and I friends?" Ziva snapped her head to Abby, her mouth slightly open from disbelief. She stared to say something, but Abby didn't give the Israeli a chance to answer, "Okay, yeah I know we're friends. But if you and Tony are friends, don't you think you should talk to him and just…let him know?"

Ziva sighed and opened her mouth to argue more, but Gibbs walked in and butted in instead, "Ziva are you planning to join us at this crime scene or do you want to stand here and talk about wedding crap for the next hour?"

Abby shook her head at Ziva but then looked over at Gibbs, "Are you saying she has a choice?"

Gibbs only stared at her as the two left the lab.

Abby sighed and rubbed her temples.

This was going to be harder than she thought.

McGee opened his apartment door and let out a tired breath. He immediately shed his jacket and un-tucked his shirt. Walking into his bedroom, he walked over to his bed and leaned down to his fiancé. "Hey Abs."

She looked up from the book she was reading and returned his kiss, "Hey. So, are you going to call Tony now?"

He was working on the buttons on his collard shirt and when he finished, started to pull off his belt, "No. It's after eleven."

Abby made a face, "So? He's still awake, you know he is."

He shook his head, "I'm sure he is, but it's considered rude to call anybody after 9:00."

"Says who?"

"Says anybody who's ever owned a phone."

She shrugged a shoulder, "I've never heard that rule."

He yawned and stretched his arms, "Yeah, I'm going to take a shower. That case wore me out."

She sighed, "You're so tired because you are still down one person on your team and you won't call Tony to fix that problem."

He rolled his eyes, "Abby do you really think telling Tony that Ziva is bringing a date to our wedding is going to make him rush back to her?"

She shook her head, "No, but it'll make him jealous and he'll bring a date and then she'll be jealous and they'll have mad jealous sex and everything will be good again."

"Mad jealous sex?" McGee repeated.

"Call him, please, Timmy?"

He let out a long sigh and decided that arguing with her more wouldn't do any good. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sat down on the edge of the bed.

The phone rang three times before his former partner picked up his phone, _"You better have a good reason for calling me after nine McRude."_

Tim glanced over at Abby and chuckled, "Yeah, sorry Tony. There is just something…I need to tell you…before you come up here."

He yawned into the phone, _"You're not backing out are you?" _

Tim shook his head as if he could see him, "No, no. Nothing like that. It's actually about…Ziva."

"_McGee, Ziva and I are…" _He stopped and sighed loudly, "_We're fine. We're not going to ruin your wedding. We'll be okay around each other, just like we used to be." _

Tim sighed, "I know, Tony. I'm not concerned about that. I called to tell you that Ziva…" He pressed his lips together and Tony could immediately sense his hesitation.

"_Ziva what, McGee? Just spit it out." _

He sighed again and spoke quickly so that he could get it over with, "She's brining a date to the wedding."

Tony didn't think it would, but the news of Ziva seeing or dating someone else actually felt like a knife being stabbed in his heart. He took a few seconds to think about it and actually forgot for a second that he was still on the phone, "_Oh, okay, that's completely fine. It's what single people do, right? They bring a date?" _

McGee swallowed the lump in his throat, "Well actually, She just let us know today. Abby and I wanted to warn you so that you're not blindsided when you get here. We think it's only fair that you know."

Tony was still trying to recover from the blow, "_Thanks, Tim, but it's unnecessary. Ziva and I are done now and I don't think anything can fix it again. So she's free to bring anybody she wants."_

Tim sighed, "Tony, are you sure there isn't anything you can do? Maybe you should…"

"_McGee we've had this conversation before. Gibbs doesn't want me there, and Ziva has a family there that she won't leave. And I get it, you know? I'm not mad about it, I'm fine. Life goes on." _

"You talked to Gibbs months ago. I think you should try again."

Tony shook his head and sighed, "_McGee, I'm tired because we just wrapped up a three month case. I've hardly slept in almost that many days, and now that I finally can get some sleep you're on the phone lecturing me." _

Tim sighed, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you know the situation."

Tony chuckled, "_I know kid. I appreciate it. I'll see you in a couple of weeks."_

McGee nodded again, "Okay, hey, Tony?"

"_Yeah?" _

"You know I still have your six, right?"

Tony smiled and nodded, _"Yeah probie, I know." _

The two federal agents hung up the phone and McGee turned to Abby. "He was devastated." Abby's mouth fell open and he continued, "He tried to hide it, but I could tell. He was hurt by it."

Abby made a face, "Maybe we should tell Ziva that she can't bring him then. I mean, Tony's your best man."

McGee turned his head, "Well Ziva is your maid of honor."

"Well, yeah, but if Ziva brings a date and Tony doesn't and if he was as devastated as you say he was on the phone, maybe we should tell her it's not a good idea. I don't want him to think coming to our wedding is a chore."

"But then if we go back on Ziva and tell her that she can't bring this guy, we might make her uncomfortable."

Abby groaned and fell back onto the bed, "Why can't we all just get along and be happy?"

Tim leaned back on his elbow and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Well, we get along fine and I'm happy. Are you happy?"

Abby giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Yes, I'm very happy."

He smiled and leaned down for a kiss, "That's what I like to hear."

Tony tossed his phone back and forth several times between his hands.

What in the hell was he supposed to do now?

He lay back down in his bed and put his hands behind his head, his brain in two million pieces—and each piece was going in a different direction.

Maybe he should just…not go?

He shook his head, no. He was McGee's best man, and not only was the probie counting on him, it made him feel all giddy inside that he was chosen.

Pretend this whole 'Ziva bringing a date' thing doesn't bother him?

Again, he shook his head. That's precisely why he didn't take an acting class in high school or college. He _sucked _at it.

Take a date to the wedding and act happy-go-lucky?

He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

It was his only option.


	11. Zac's Burgers

**Hey guys-thanks so much for sticking with me. Going through some rough times lately, but I should have some more free time now. So I'll try to do better. **

**Disclaimer- I don't own these people.**

* * *

The Federal Agent stood in the airport, waiting for Tony to get off of his plane that landed a few minutes ago. McGee sighed and looked down at his watch again. He had a million things to do for the wedding on Sunday and to make matters worse, Gibbs called and threatened him with some unpleasant sounding Marine Corps punishment ideas if he didn't get the report from the last case finished.

He rolled his eyes at the thought. He had tried to explain to the boss that the only reason he was late with his report was because he was getting married in a few days and he didn't have time to finish; there were tuxedos to be picked up, caterer to pay, house to close on,

But Gibbs only fired back at him that he was married four times, and he wasn't ever late with a report. McGee gave up on the argument and promised to return once Tony was on the ground.

Tim sighed and looked down at his watch, he had now been gone from the office for three hours. He pictured smoke pouring out of Gibbs' ears and told himself to bring a fire extinguisher with him.

He finally spotted his best man's tall frame walking towards him and he threw up his hand to make sure Tony saw him. He lifted his chin and pulled his bag further up his shoulder.

"McGroom!" Tony said and gave him a bro hug. When they parted, Tony stepped back and allowed a blonde to step forward, "Tim this is Brooke Thompson, Brooke, Timothy McGee."

Tim took one step forward and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you."

She smiled, "Oh it's very nice to meet you too! Thanks so much for letting me tag along. I love weddings!"

Tim chuckled, "You're very welcome. I hope you have a great time while you're here."

"We've gotta get our luggage. Then we'll go grab some food. You hungry McEat?"

Tim shook his head, "Yes, but I can't do lunch. I've got to get back to the office and finish up some paperwork before I'm off for three days or Gibbs will kill me dead."

Tony and Brooke laughed as they walked to baggage claim to collect their things. The three sat down in a Sedan and Tim spoke again to his passenger, "I'll take you guys to the Navy Yard and let you have my car. I'll drive a Sedan home and we can drop it off sometime over the weekend."

Tony grinned and pat him on the shoulder, "Sounds good." He turned back to the backseat to Brooke, who was staring out of the window, her arms and legs crossed. "Hey, you ready for the best hamburger you'll ever put in your mouth?"

She smiled at him, "I'm a vegetarian."

Tim looked over at Tony and couldn't help but laugh. Tony lost his smile and looked down at the back of the seat, "Oh, well this place has salads too. I've never had one but I've heard good things about them."

Brooke nodded, "That sounds fine Tony."

He smiled again like he'd just won a prize. "Great, I'm starved. I've been craving a Zac's burger since I left."

McGee chuckled, "He asks about you."

"I'm sure he does. I was there at least 4 times a week, every week."

Tim shrugged a shoulder, "One more reason for you to move back here."

Tony cut his eyes at his former partner, "Not now, Probie."

He looked at him for another second and turned his attention back to the road. Brooke leaned up and tapped Tony on the shoulder, "What is probie? Is that his nickname?"

Tony turned so that he could explain it to her, "Probie is short for probationary agent. It means that the agent is in his first year."

She turned her head, "So this is Tim's first year? But I thought you've known him for a while."

Tony shook his head, "No, he's been with NCIS for 11 years, but when he started, he was my probationary agent. So he will always be Probie to me."

She nodded slowly, "I got it, I think."

He turned back to the front as they were pulling into the Navy yard, "They're gonna need your ID, Brooke."

Tony and Tim both showed they're badge and Brooke gave her an ID, and they were waved through the gate. Once parked, they took McGee's keys and loaded his car, heading back out of the Navy yard and took a left towards Tony's favorite place.

Once inside and seated, they placed their order and made small talk while they waited on their food. He was mid-bite when he looked up and saw _her_ walk through the door.

He looked away and quickly took the bite. He looked over at Brooke and she smiled at him, but her look became concern, "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tony nodded and put on a fake smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." He watched her as she placed her order and sat down on the bench by the door. She took out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons on it, but then closed it again and looked around the room.

Ziva felt her mouth fall open, but quickly closed it. She should have known that he would come here. It was his favorite place. She scolded herself and stood, crossing her arms and walking over to his table. It would be considered rude not to speak _now_. Damn it.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and put on a fake smile before she got to the table, "Hi DiNozzo."

He stared up at her and lost his smile at the sound of his last name, but fired it back at her, "Hey David."

They hadn't lost eye contact since she walked up to the table, "How are you?" She asked quietly.

He nodded, "I'm okay. And yourself?" She nodded as a reply and they both looked down at Brooke when she cleared her throat for attention. "Oh, yeah, Ziva David this is Brooke Thompson." The two women shook hands, "Ziva is a Special Agent like me."

"Oh, it's very nice to meet you! I love to meet Tony's old coworkers." S5

Ziva smiled, "Yes, there are plenty of us around here."

"Order 918 to go!" Ziva looked down at her receipt and put on a smile to Brooke.

"I have a lot of work to do and my order is ready. It was very nice to meet you. I will see you both at the wedding."

She walked to the counter and was handed the bag. Tony watched her for another second, "Hey Brooke, I'll be right back."

"Sure Tony." She said and took another bite of her salad.

"Ziva, wait." He called and took a couple of jogging steps to catch up with her.

She sighed, turned around and looked up at him, "I have someone waiting in the car, DiNozzo."

He scrunched his eyebrows together, "What's your deal? Why are you acting like this?"

Ziva looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, "You should probably get back to your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, Ziva." He said through his teeth, "And you have no right since your new fuck buddy is outside in the car."

She felt her mouth fall open but closed it again to argue with him, "I cannot believe you just said that. Get away from me."

"I didn't hear you deny it."

"I am denying it now." She moved another step closer to him and looked him right into his eyes, "That is my cousin from Tel Aviv." She stared at him for another few seconds, "You do not know me at all."

Tony watched as she finally walked away from him and out of the door. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and then rubbed his face. He started to walk back to his table when he bumped into somebody who was walking the opposite way, "Oh I'm sorry…Jerry? Jerry Richardson?"

The man looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah?"

"Tony DiNozzo! How are you man?"

Jerry looked up at him and chuckled, shaking Tony's hand, "I haven't seen you in a long time."

"I know, it's been a while. What are you doing in DC?"

He looked around and stuck his hands in his pockets, "I live here now."

"Oh really? Wow. I live down in Georgia now, but I lived here for a long time. How long have you been here? We could've played a game sometime." He looked around nervously and it made Tony furrow his brows.

"I've only been here for about a year."

"Ah okay." Jerry put his hood on his head and looked around again, "You alright dude? You seem edgy."

Jerry nodded at him, "Yeah, yeah I'm cool."

Tony nodded, "Okay, well I'm gonna be in town for a few days, do you want to get together and play some ball?"

He shook his head, "Nah man. I don't think I can."

Tony narrowed his eyes at him. "Alright. Well maybe next time."

"That's cool man. Hey listen, I've got something I've gotta take care of. But you have a nice life, okay?" Tony reached out to shake his hand and Jerry shook it quickly, moving around him to the counter of the restaurant.

Tony returned to his seat, but kept his eyes on his former teammate. Brooke smiled at him as he sat down at the table, "You were gone for a while."

He glanced at her, but then looked back up at Jerry. "Yeah, sorry about that." He said softly. He continued to watch as Jerry walked behind the counter to find to manager.

"I'm sure your food is cold by now." Brooke said, trying to gain Tony's eye contact again.

"It's fine." Tony said, and then squint his eyes to Jerry's form again.

"What's wrong with you?" Tony's eyes opened wide as the manager and Jerry began yelling at each other.

Tony finally made eye contact with Brooke again, "Listen to me, okay? I want you to stand up, very casually, and go to the women's restroom. On your way there, stop at as many tables that have women and children as you can and explain to them, very quickly and quietly, that there is a guy with a gun in the restaurant. Once inside the restroom, lock the door and have everybody sit down on the floor and be silent. Silence their cell phones so they don't ring. He won't know everyone is in there." Tony reached in his back pocket for his wallet, "Text this number once everyone is safe. It's my boss." He sighed, "Tell everyone not to panic."

Everyone inside the restaurant stared at the two men behind the counter as their voice levels continued to raise. Brooke looked back at Tony, "You're serious?"

"Go." Tony said sternly.

Brooke picked up her purse and slowly stood from the table. She did exactly what she was told, squatting down at tables with children and their mothers and calmly explaining the situation. Tony heard the restroom door shut and noticed that most of the place was now clear, except the people closest to the counter. He stood and calmly started his walk over to the counter.

Jerry and the manager, Fred, were arguing about Jerry's job that he apparently got fired from two days ago. Tony was almost at the counter when Jerry pulled out a gun and held it to Fred's head, "I want my job back, now!"

Two or three people in the place jumped up from their tables and ran out of the door, "No!" He breathed, walking to it and locking it. He walked around the place and noticed all of the empty tables. He pointed his gun right at Tony and Tony stepped back a couple of steps, "Where did everybody go?"

He let out a breath, "Jerry, dude, you don't want to do this. Talk to me, and I can help you."

Jerry pulled the hammer back on the double action revolver he held in his hand, "Nobody can help me anymore, DiNozzo."

"Jerry, wait, wait. Why don't you let these other people leave and keep me here? I'm a valuable hostage, I can get what you whatever you want."

"You can get my wife to speak to me? You can get my family back? I don't think so!" Jerry yelled.

"I can. I can get you whatever you want."

"Nobody is going anywhere! Shut the hell up!" Jerry put down his gun and got into the federal agent's face, "You say another word to me about somebody leaving and I'll blow your head off."

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded once, "Okay."

He turned around and walked back over to the several people that were ducking under the tables. "All of you, get over here against the wall." He pointed to two of the men, "You two, move those tables away."

The two guys walked over to the wall and did exactly what they were told. Everyone, including the employees and the customers sat down at the wall.

He turned to Tony again and pointed his gun at him, "What? You think you're special? Go sit."

Tony let out a sigh and moved over to the wall, sitting down at the end of the line.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

Tucked away safely in the locked bathroom, Brooke took a deep breath, pulled out her cell phone and created a text message from the number on the card that Tony had given her.

_Agent Gibbs- This is Brooke Thompson. I flew in with Tony for the wedding. We're eating at a restaurant called Zac's Burgers. There is a guy who has a gun and he's holding everyone hostage. Tony had me collect several people and take them to the restroom. I've got the door locked and the people and I are staying quiet so that he doesn't know we're in here. Tony is out there with the crazy man. Please help._

Gibbs was sitting at his desk across from McGee and working on some things to help Balboa with his case. His phone dinged and he rolled his eyes. If it was Abby asking him if McGee could leave yet again he was going to chunk the damn thing.

"Abby again?" Tim asked, a slight smirk on his face. He loved that woman. But his boss didn't answer, he was squinting his eyes at the small screen, reading the text message. At Gibbs' weird look, McGee spoke again, "Boss? You okay?"

Gibbs finally looked up at Tim and closed his phone, "Brooke Thompson just sent me a message."

McGee's forehead creased with confusion, "How do you know her?"

Gibbs shook his head, "I don't."

"She's Tony's date for the wedding. I just picked her and him up from the airport an hour ago." McGee stared at Gibbs as he stared at the closed cell phone in his hand, "Boss, what's wrong?"

Gibbs finally looked over at him, "Tony's in trouble."


	12. Chance

Anthony DiNozzo sat at the end of the wall and leaned forward to count the people in front of the gun. The total count was 15; too many. He took a deep breath and felt his pocket vibrate. He waited until Jerry was over yelling at the manager to call the owner before he pulled it out, quickly glancing down at it to see that he had a missed call from both Tim and Gibbs.

They had been sitting there almost an hour, but every time Tony tried to negotiate with him, Jerry only screamed at him to shut up. He slid his phone back in his pocket and pulled a knee up to his chest, locking his fingers around it.

From what Tony understood, Jerry was causing this uproar because the owner, Zac, had fired him and Jerry's wife took their two girls and left to move back home to Ohio with her ex-boyfriend.

He remembered that Jerry went to school to be an engineer, and he wondered what happened to that. Letting out a sigh, he thought he'd try again with his former teammate.

"Jerry, remember that game our senior year? We were down by 10 and had only fourteen seconds left on the clock."

Jerry rolled his eyes, "Yes, DiNozzo, I remember. I don't want to hear the story again."

A man further down the wall leaned up and raised an eyebrow, "I would like to hear it." He then looked over at Jerry, "Would you mind if he tells me the story?"

The man with the gun rolled his eyes again and motioned with his hand for Tony to continue. Tony took another breath and leaned up so that he could talk to the other guy, "We were ahead the entire first half. Undefeated season. Last game before the tournament started. At halftime, something happened and suddenly we were down 30 points. "

"Everybody in the gym had a mood change. They couldn't keep their eyes off the scoreboard or the time." Jerry butted in. He was staring out of the window, but Tony was pretty sure he wasn't looking at anything.

Tony nodded and continued, "I passed the ball to Johnson, Johnson passed it to Jerry, and he shot a three pointer, down by seven. Ten seconds left, timeout was called again. After timeout, ball was blocked back to us, two more points, and then there was a foul on Jerry. He got both of them. If you're not keeping up, we were only down by three points. There was only three seconds left in the game."

"There's no way you guys pulled it off in three seconds. I mean, that's impossible."

Tony grinned, "Nobody thought we could do it and we did. Took it into double overtime, and we won."

"Undefeated season went on to win the championship." Jerry finished.

Tony watched as he continued to stare out the window at nothing, his lips pressed into a line and his arms crossed over his chest. Tony stood from the wall, slowly, walking over to his former teammate, "Jerry, you don't want to do this man. Let these people go, keep me. I promise you, I'll get you what you want."

Jerry turned and looked at Tony right in his eyes before pointing his gun at him, causing Tony to raise his hands and step backwards until his back hit the wall.

With his teeth clenched and the gun shaking in his hand, Jerry moved his lips to speak to Tony, "Get my wife here."

Tony swallowed the gigantic lump in his throat and spoke softly, "Okay."

"And I told you that no one leaves." Tony swallowed again and nodded, and Jerry finally took the gun aim off of Tony, but then shot up in the air.

Outside, Gibbs and McGee's eyes grew at the sound of the gunshot. McGee sighed and wiped his forehead, "Boss, do you think we should call in the backup now?"

Gibbs nodded, "Tell them to approach quietly. No sirens. The last thing we need is this guy spooked."

McGee agreed to his boss and then stepped away, but found Ziva walking up to him. She looked McGee right into his eyes, "Is he still inside?"

Tim looked down at his cell phone, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the former Officer, "Yeah."

Ziva closed her eyes and stepped back from McGee, "I am going in, he may need backup." She started to walk by him, but he grabbed her arm, "No, you're not. That's a good way to get yourself killed. You don't know this guy."

"Let me go, Tim."

"Ziva, no." He continued to dial on his phone with his left hand, his right on Ziva's arm, holding her so that she wouldn't walk past him. After he hung up, Ziva spoke through her teeth.

"If you do not let me go, I will break your arm."

Tim shook his head, "I'd rather have a cast on my arm then be down my other partner."

She still spoke through her teeth and her voice scared him just a little, "What if he needs help?"

Tim shook his head, "Tony's going to be fine." Her eyes were still looking deep into his, so he continued, "If you were going to go in there, since he's going to be fine, he'd kill me for letting you go in there. And I don't want to die two days before my wedding."

Ziva thought about it for another second, looked at him and sighed, letting her mouth relax, "Okay."

He nodded once, "Okay?"

She closed her eyes and sighed again, "I understand."

Tim nodded at her and let go of her arm, returning his attention back to his phone.

Back inside, Tony was against the wall again, because the call to Jerry's wife resulted in the gun pointed back at him. Unfortunately for Tony, the call went nowhere but to his wife's answering machine.

Jerry was yelling at the assistant manager again, yelling at him to get the manager who fired him.

Tony and the basketball question man that sat next to him sat with their knees up to their chests and their hands clutching their legs. The man leaned over and whispered to Tony.

"DiNozzo, right?" He asked.

Tony nodded once, "Yeah, yeah. Tony."

The man looked up at Jerry again and then held his hand out for Tony to shake, "Will."

Tony reached his hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you."

"You're a cop?"

Tony looked at him and nodded once, "Special Agent, NCIS."

Will looked up at Jerry, his back still turned to them, "We can take him."

Tony shook his head. "I can't put you in that position man. You're a civilian. He could kill you."

"He could kill everybody in here. And if we don't do something he's going to." Will replied, "I want to help, I'm willing to help."

Tony shook his head firmly again, "No. We need to let them handle it."

"What if they are too late? You couldn't reach his wife and who knows what is on his mind. One of us could grab him and the other disarm him and get him into custody. Nobody has to die."

"You could get hurt, and then it's my responsibility. I'll be the federal agent that let a civilian take an unnecessary risk with his life."

Will sighed and let his head fall against the wall, moving it back and fourth against it. Jerry walked around for a few more minutes, swinging his loaded gun around like it was a squirt gun instead of a deadly weapon. Tony closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what Gibbs was doing to end this situation.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a cell phone was chunked at him, hitting him in his chest, "Try her again." Jerry commanded.

Tony looked up at him and rubbed his chest with his left hand, "Still got that good throwing arm, I see."

"Shut up and call her!" Jerry yelled.

Tony sighed and pressed the green button twice on Jerry's cell phone. The line rang 8 times, with the woman's voicemail picking up again. Tony looked up at Jerry and shook his head, "Do you want me to leave a message?"

"No, I don' t want you to leave a voicemail! Hang up!" Tony nodded and ended the call, with Jerry pacing around the restaurant again, "She's probably out with her new boyfriend. She wanted a new family." He went over to Tony and squat down so that he was eye level, "Do you have a family?"

Tony swallowed. That kind of question cut him deep.

No, he didn't have a family anymore.

Gibbs was no longer his father figure, Tim was no longer his little brother, Abby his sister, Ducky his grandfather.

And Ziva was no longer the love of his life.

No, they weren't anymore.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "No, I don't. I have people I care for."

"Then you have no idea what I feel like." He pointed his gun at him, but then turned and started to pace again.

"I do, Jerry. But I don't understand why you think you have to put all of us in danger. You went to school to be an engineer and you graduated. Why are you so upset about this job when you can go out and get a better paying one as an engineer?"

He shook his head and once again pointed his gun at Tony, "I didn't graduate. You don't have any idea what you are talking about, so shut the hell up. I won't tell you again."

Tony sighed and leaned against the wall. He looked over at Will, who was staring back at him. He waited until the coast was clear to speak, "I'm willing to help, Mr. Tony. Please let me."

He thought about it for another second until Jerry had pointed a gun in the manager's face again. He looked of at Will and nodded once, there really wasn't any other choice if he wanted to get everyone out of there alive. "Okay, lets do it." Tony whispered.

Will nodded once, "Yes sir."

Tony nodded back at him, "I'll get him high, you get him low."

Another few seconds passed and Tony motioned to Will to put the plan into action. Both men jumped up at the same time, attacking Jerry and knocking him down.

Outside, the rest of the team heard shots fired and quickly jumped into agent mode, their guns drawn and fingers on the triggers. Once inside, they found Tony holding a man down on the floor, holding his wrists behind his back.

McGee finished clearing the room with Ziva and Gibbs and made his way through the people that had gathered around back to Tony. He held handcuffs out to him, and when Gibbs appeared, the agent looked up at him, "Check on Will, he was shot."

The man with the silver hair stared at Tony for another second before leaving and jogging over to the man on the ground. Once the new prisoner was secure with McGee, Tony joined his ex boss by his side.

"Will, you alright man?" Tony asked.

Will nodded, "Yes sir, I'm gonna be fine. Just my arm."

"Should've waited, DiNozzo. We don't use civilian's for help."

Tony glared at Gibbs and opened his mouth to start up another argument, but Will spoke up first.

"I started with him myself, sir. He didn't know anything about it."

"Will…"

"Agent DiNozzo tried to get him to put down his gun several times. He kept aiming that thing at people and I got tired of it. My baby brother was killed by an accidental gun shot a long time ago, and I don't like to see a gun pointed at anybody's face that doesn't deserve it." Will said.

Gibbs nodded, "I understand." He held out his hand to Will's good arm and shook it, "Thank you for all that you did in helping to protect these people."

The man smiled at Gibbs, "You're welcome, agent. I am glad nobody else was hurt." He shook hands with Tony and the paramedics took him out of the building.

Gibbs turned at stared at Tony again, but didn't say anything. He just turned and went to another hostage, taking his notepad and asking questions. Tony rolled his eyes and turned, looking around the building. He made eye contact with Ziva, and the two of them couldn't take their eyes off of each other until Brooke ran to Tony, jumping on him and almost knocking him down with a hug.

"Oh my god, I was so worried about you! Are you okay? I heard gunshots!"

Tony looked at Ziva again and finally tore his stare off of her and backed up from Brooke, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Brooke leaned up and kissed Tony gently on the lips, "Oh thank goodness. That bathroom was getting smaller and smaller by the second and I knew we were in there for protection but I was worried and-"

"Brooke, I'm okay." Tony said softly, nodding to her like he used to do with Abby to calm her down, "Everybody is okay. One person was shot, but he's going to be fine."

She let out a sigh, "Okay." She gripped his forearms and fought tears in her eyes, "I was just so worried. I didn't know what was going on out here and I couldn't find out and people in there were freaking out and I just…" She took a breath to try and calm herself down, "I'm glad you're okay."

Tony nodded and patted her forearm, "Thanks for doing that for us. I didn't want anymore people in danger that had to be."

A smile appeared on her face, "I was glad I could help. I almost felt like your friend that came up to the table."

Tony stared at her for a second and then let out a sarcastic chuckle, "Yeah. I'm gonna go over here, okay?" Brooke nodded at him again and he walked away from her, checking behind his shoulder to make sure that she didn't follow him.

Ziva stood talking to one of the hostages, and after Tony heard her take down the man's name and number, he knew she was finished. When Henry Blue stepped away, Tony got in his place directly in front of her.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked into her eyes, "Hey."

Ziva licked her lips and pressed them together. She looked down at the floor and crossed her arms. Finally, she looked him up and down and spoke softly"Are you alright?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Ziva looked into his eyes for a few more seconds, "Good." She finally said, but when she tried to walk away, he gently grabbed her arm.

The silent conversation they were having with their eyes was very similar to the one they had when Ziva came back to the office after being rescued

"Wait." He said softly, "Can we get out of here and talk for a second?"

He let go of her arm and she shook her head, "I have work to do, Tony. Several people to interview."

Tony rolled his eyes, but she was right, and he knew it. "Later then?"

She gave him a closed nod and walked away from him again, moving along to the next person.

An hour later, Tony and Brooke were at NCIS writing statements. They sat in the conference room with McGee, who was taking notes about the case. Tony signed the statement and told Brooke to sign hers. He stood from the table, "Can we go now?"

McGee nodded, "Yeah, thanks Tony."

Tony nodded back at him, "Do you mind if I take your car again?"

Tim shook his head, "No, but I'd avoid going to anymore restaurants."

Tony chuckled dryly and stood, patting McGee on the back as he walked by, Brooke right behind him. They descended the stairs and walked slowly by the squad room, which was occupied by Gibbs and Ziva. Tony took his time to stare at each of them, both of them staring back at him.

Once the pair were safely inside the elevator, Ziva stood and walked over to Gibbs and leaned on it with two hands, staring down at him, "Problem, Ziver?"

"I know it is not any of my business, but, don't you think you have punished Tony enough?"

Gibbs looked up and furrowed his brows, "You're right, it isn't any of your business."

"What is the problem, Gibbs? Why can he not come back and join the team again?"

He stood and leaned on the desk just as Ziva was, leaving very little space between them, "Why do you care, Ziva? You are not with him anymore."

"I still care for him Gibbs." She said harshly and took a deep breath, "I told you when he was shot and almost dead that I was still in love with him." She stopped and swallowed, finding the next words harder to say than she anticipated. "That has not changed, and I do not think it will." She continued, watching Gibbs as he looked down at his desk and then back at her, "He left because of our relationship. I do not think it is fair to you or McGee, especially when this team needs him. He is a part of the family."

"He left, Ziva." He argued. "He didn't want to stay. He's the one that left. Why am I the bad guy?"

"Because, Gibbs, you will not let him come back. He has apologized to you, told you that he was wrong and asked to come back. You said no. That is why we are not fixed. That is why I lie in my bed at night and stare at the ceiling."

"You are telling me that if I let him come back you would be with him today?"

Ziva sighed and backed up from him, crossing her arms over her chest, "Yes."

Gibbs shook his head, "Somehow I doubt that, Ziva."

He sat down in his chair again, "After he rescued me again, I went down to see him. We told each other that we would make it work. He was going to come and talk to you and move back up here so that we could make it work. When you said no, he asked me to come with him, but I would not leave my family."

After several moments of silence, Gibbs stood and walked around his desk, "I'm going for coffee."

Ziva watched her boss as he left the bullpen. He didn't wait on the elevator, but instead headed down the stairs. Ziva sighed and could only hope that she talked some sense into him.

Tony looked over at the passenger in Tim's car and spoke softly, "Hey, I'm gonna run by the hospital and check on Will if that's okay."

She nodded, "Oh yeah, that's fine. I'll just wait in the car if you're not going to be long."

He shook his head, "I won't."

Brooke nodded, "Okay. I can just sit here and relax for few minutes to get what happened out of my head."

Tony chuckled, "Well since we didn't get to eat lunch, we can run through somewhere and grab a bite."

Brooke shook her head, "No thanks. I don't think I could eat right now."

Tony nodded once, "Okay."

She turned and looked at him, "You're not freaked out by this?" She asked, her voice reaching a higher octave than normal.

He glanced at her and then turned down another street towards the hospital. "Not really." He told her, "I've been through a lot through my career."

Brooke nodded at him, accepting that she probably would never understand everything he'd been through. She took a breath and then tried to swallow, "So um, I know we haven't known each other that long, and I know we haven't been on but one date, but I really like you, Tony." He stopped at a red light, looking over at her, "I want to get to know you better. Hang out more or something."

He lifted an eyebrow at her, "That was kind of out of left field."

She smiled, shrugging a shoulder, "Yeah, that's how I roll."

Tony chuckled, "Yeah, definitely." He reached over and squeezed her left knee, "I'd like that."

The light turned green again and he let go of her, so she continued, "So there isn't any reason that you and I can't get to know each other a little better?"

Now he was confused, "Why would there be?"

She smiled and looked down at her lap, "I'm not sure. There's some kind of vibe with you, and I can't put my finger on it."

He took a breath and glanced over at her again, shaking his head. "There's just a lot of history in this city with me."

Moments of silence passed between them and she finally spoke again, "Is that woman a part of the history?"

Tony's heart rate sped up to unsafe levels, so it was a good thing they were close to the hospital. His sudden nervousness made him chuckle, "Which woman?"

She leaned back, "Um, the one you chased after she left our table. The one you stared at for a long time."

He sighed again to try and calm himself down, "Yeah, she is."

Brooke looked down again. "You still love her, don't you?" Tony pressed his lips together as he pulled into a parking spot at the hospital.

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter." Unbuckling his seatbelt, he started to get out of the car when she put her hand on his arm.

He looked back at her and she smiled gently, "It matters to her, Tony."

Tony felt the corner of his mouth pull up and he nodded once, "I'll be back in a little while, okay? I'll leave the keys for you."

* * *

One day later, Tony and Brooke sat at McGee's apartment, watching a movie on TV. Tony had his arm along the length of the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table, and a beer in his left hand. Brooke was lying under his arm, against his chest.

Other than the TV, the place was silent. Tony had made a couple of comments about the movie once or twice, and Brooke responded, but no further conversation erupted. Tony wondered if she felt weird around him now, since their conversation yesterday about Ziva.

There was a knock on the door and Tony sighed, frustrated. Tim had been getting deliveries all day for the wedding, and he was pretty sure the probie did it on purpose so that Tony would have to sign for every one of them.

He waited until Brooke sat up before he put his feet on the ground and beer on the table, walking slowly to the door. He opened it and stared at the woman on the other side for a few seconds before his brain kicked in again.

"Hey."

"Hello."

He swallowed. When did they become such strangers? "You off work already?" He scolded himself mentally. What kind of question was that?

She nodded slowly, "Yes."

Tony nodded, "I'm glad. But I assumed Gibbs would let you go once the hostage thing was closed."

Ziva nodded back, and geez, this was awkward. She sighed, stretching her neck to look over his shoulder, seeing Brooke on McGee's couch. "Do you have a second?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Come in." He opened the door wider for her and she walked in, walking in front of Tony to the couch. Tony held out his hand, "Brooke, you met Ziva, Ziva you remember Brooke."

Both smiled, shaking each other's hand, "It is nice to see you again." Ziva said, "Are you okay since the situation yesterday?"

Brooke nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm good. I was a little shaken up, but I'm better now."

Ziva smiled, "That is good to hear."

Tony put his hand on the small of Ziva's back, "Hey, we're gonna go in here and talk for a second. Play the movie."

A moment later, they were in McGee's spare bedroom, with the door locked for good measure. Ziva sat down on the bed and Tony leaned back against the dresser, crossing his legs. He finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry about yesterday, Zi."

Ziva looked up at him, "What happened yesterday was not your fault."

"No, not for being a hostage, I meant for the fuck buddy comment."

She took her stare off of him and nodded slowly, "I am not seeing anyone, Tony." She said softly, "But you are dating her, yes?" Now she looked at him again, waiting on him to form a response.

He shook his head, "No, but I like her. She's pretty cool."

Ziva's heart sped up and she was sure Tony could see her shirt moving from it, so she crossed her arms, "So you really are moving on?"

Tony shrugged one shoulder, "Yeah, Zi. I guess I am. I told you that I will always love you and that hasn't changed. But you and I are in different spots now."

Ziva felt tears starting to from behind her eyes at the thought of him moving on, but she fought them. "What if that was to change?" Her voice broke and oh crap, he was staring at her now.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and when she didn't answer fast enough he tried again, "What are you talking about, Ziva?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke softly, "I talked to Gibbs."

"You talked to Gibbs about what?" He asked, pushing her to continue.

She sighed again, "About you."

Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "Ziva, I don't want you to fight my battles for me. I told you Gibbs was stubborn and there wasn't anything you or I can do to fix that. Gibbs is finished with me. I left, and he's done."

"No he is not." Ziva said quickly, "Gibbs will always care for you like a son, Tony. You are his family. And sometimes families fight, but it is time for you and him to fix whatever is wrong. Talk to him."

"I have tried talking to him." Tony argued, "But every time I do he tells me to get the hell out and to shut the hell up. I'm done with that, I'm tired of fighting for something that's never going to happen."

Ziva looked at him, her brown eyes staring in to his green ones, "You are tired of fighting for us?"

God, Tony was sure somebody was going to have to call 911 after that blow. He looked away from her, and he was pretty sure that his breathing was not in a normal rhythm. When he gathered himself again, he looked back at her to find her still staring at him. "I love you, Ziva." He reminded her, and she swallowed for a response.

"I know that." She said softly, "But if you will not talk to Gibbs, it is like you are giving up on a chance for us."

"Well what about you?" He accused, "You won't come to me. I get that you love them, but don't you love me?"

She didn't miss a beat, "Yes." She sighed, "I love you will all of my heart, Tony, but this is my family. It is your family too."

Tony shook his head, "No, not anymore. Everyone has moved on."

"You are McGee's best man." She said quickly, "You are in the most important day of his life, and you think he has moved on? Gibbs still has not filled your chair, because I know that he is trying to wait on things to repair between you and him. It is time to repair them."

Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. She was right, and that's what made this conversation so hard for him. He let out a sigh and finally met her eyes again. "I'll talk to Gibbs again." She smile gently and he motioned with his head, "Come here." Ziva stood and walked the few steps over to him, and waited until he uncrossed his legs so she could stand between them. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to his body, leaning down to place his lips on hers. The kiss quickly heated up, and when Ziva felt his hands on her bare skin beneath her shirt, she pulled back from the kiss.

It didn't stop him, though; he only attacked the newly exposed skin on her neck, making chill bumps rise on every part of her body. "Tony." She breathed, and he only came back up to her lips, pulling her body even closer than his. "Tony…" She said again, grabbing his face between her hands to stop him, "Brooke is out there." She reminded him.

He sighed, "Okay, one more kiss?" He asked her, smiling a little.

Tony leaned down and kissed her again, and Ziva felt her toes curl. Good god, she loved how he did that. And _that. _

Unfortunately for both of them, the kiss ended and they got up and straightened their clothes to go out into the real world.

But their chances had changed, and hopefully things would be fixed.


End file.
